Heart of Fury
by Lobo Argost
Summary: Naruto's heart is broken, and he leaves the village instead of Sasuke. But from this heartbreak, arises what may very well be his greatest power. Naru/Saku
1. Heartbreak and Realization

Heart of Fury

Welcome to Heart of Fury. I decided to write something where Naruto is the one that goes rouge instead of Sasuke. I do hope you enjoy this fic.

**Legal stuff: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Just my fics and ocs.**

Naruto floated in the air above the Village Hidden in the Leaves, which had been partly destroyed. "Now this village will know my pain!" he said, using chakra to magnify his voice so that everyone heard him. "Shinra Tensei!" he said, using a large scale version of the jutsu to demolish the village, leaving a huge crater where the village once was, surrounded by what rubble wasn't forced out the gates. As he surveyed his handiwork, a giant puff of smoke appeared in the crater. Landing in the crater, he waited for the smoke to clear. "So, you came to me," he said, seeing Gamabunta and two other toads he had never seem before, along with a smaller, but still huge toad on Gamabunta's head. But what he was focused on was the woman standing on top of the smaller toad.

(Three years earlier)

"Sasuke, would you like to go on a date with me?" Sakura asked the Uchiha prodigy.

"No. Now leave me alone. You're annoying," Sasuke said before walking off, leaving Sakura with her feelings hurt.

"I'll go on a date with you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, only to be slapped by the subject of his affections.

"For the last time, I don't want to go on a date with you!" Sakura snapped. "I won't date you, and never will! Stay out of my life, you dense, irritating, annoying waste of space!" with that, she stormed off, leaving Naruto standing there, his heart breaking.

"Sakura-chan..." he muttered. So overcome was he by pain that he didn't even notice the group of chunin approaching him.

"She's right, you know," one said. "You are a waste of space."

"So do us all a favor and die, you demon," another of the chunin said as they drew weapons.

Naruto just stood there, a look of rage forming on his face. "I... am not... A DEMON!" he screamed as he rounded on them, his eyes filled with fury as they took a new appearance, his irises turning purple along with his scleras, which held a ripple pattern. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" he screamed as he lost himself. The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by the chunins' corpses. Looking at a puddle made by the recent rain, he saw his eyes. "What is this? Some kind of dojutsu?" Focusing chakra into his eyes, he deactivated it, seeing his normal eyes, he looked at the corpses, an uncaring frown on his face. "I guess they want me to leave. Fine. I'll give them what they want."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Around three hours later, Naruto was walking down the path toward the gate, intent on leaving.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura asked, having run to find him.

"What do you want, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

Sakura gasped, noting that he didn't add 'chan' to her name. "You're packed for a trip, and this is the only path out of the village. You're not, leaving are you?"

"Don't try to stop me," Naruto said, not looking at her. "I'm done with this village."

"Naruto, this is your home!" Sakura said. "You can't abandon us!"

"Why do you care?" Naruto asked. "I seem to remember you calling me a dense, irritating, annoying waste of space."

"I... I was upset when I said that," Sakura said. "I don't think you're any of those things. I'm sorry! Please, forgive me! Please don't go! The truth is, I need you in my life! You've always been there for me! Your date offers when Sasuke rejected me, even though I refused, they made me feel better, made me feel wanted. I got to thinking about it, and about my feelings. Naruto, I realize now, just how much you mean to me! I-" Before she could continue, Naruto was behind her.

"Sakura..." he began. "I hate you." With that, he knocked her out, and left her there as he departed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura awoke hours later, the sun having begun its ascent. "Naruto... I love you," she muttered, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "I have to tell Lady Tsunade."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once informed, Tsunade quickly put together a team to retrieve Naruto, consisting of Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, Neji, and Sasuke. The group were about to leave after Kiba got Naruto's scent when Sakura came running toward them.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked as the pinkete caught her breath.

"I couldn't stop him," Sakura said. "I tried, but he wouldn't listen," she said as she started crying. "I love him! I love him so much! I just wish I had realized it before this happened! Sasuke, I don't know who else to turn to! Only you can! Please, bring him home! Please bring Naruto back to me!"

Sasuke looked at her. "Sakura, I give you my word, that I'll bring him back. When I return, you'll have the dead last in your arms. I promise you that."

Sakura looked at him, giving him a small smile through her tears. "Sasuke, thank you!"

"Let's go, so you can keep that promise," Kiba said, smiling at Sakura.

"Right," Sasuke said as the group turned and headed out to retrieve Naruto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto arrived at the Final Valley, jumping from the statue of Hashirama Senju to that of Madara Uchiha, stopping when he heard a voice call to him.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled as he and the rest of the team landed on Hashirama's statue.

Naruto turned to look at them shocking them with the fact that his eyes were no longer bright and vibrant. They were now cold and uncaring. "So, she sent you."

Sakura's pleading voice echoed in Sasuke's mind. _"Please, bring him home! Please bring Naruto back to me!"_

"What the hell are you doing, dead last?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto didn't answer, remaining silent.

"Answer me, dammit!" Sasuke yelled.

"Like I told Sakura, I'm done with the Leaf," Naruto said. "It's over, just leave me alone."

Sasuke glared at Naruto, making him chuckle.

"What's with the angry face?" Naruto asked, grinning darkly.

"Why, Naruto? Why are you doing this to us?" Kiba yelled. "What made you end up like this? Why are you doing it?"

"Why should you care what I do?" Naruto asked. "It's my business, not yours," he said, making them gasp. "I have my own path to follow, and nothing will steer me from it. I'll tell you this much though. My days of playing ninja with you kids in the Leaf Village... are done." With that, he turned and started walking away, only to turn after seeing a shadow, seeing Shikamaru, in a rare display of recklessness, coming at him.

"Not so fast, Naruto! Are you really telling us that all that bonding we did as comrades was for nothing?" Shikamaru yelled as he tackled Naruto to the ground and punched him in the face.

Naruto looked at him, still without emotion, and spit some blood onto Shikamaru's cheek. "Comrades huh? Just a fancy term for friends. If you were my friends, you'd have been there to help me when the villagers would beat me, throw me out of their shops, and generally abuse me for crimes I didn't commit."

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto grinned. "I've got the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside me."

"So what?" Shikamaru yelled. "So you're a Jinchuriki! Who cares? We know you're not the Nine-Tails! If anyone's a monster, the people who wrongly judged you!"

Naruto looked at him, his grin still present. "Well, if you insist on getting in my way, it can't be helped," he said, his whisker marks darkening, his nails becoming claws, and his eyes becoming blood red with slitted pupils before he grabbed Shikamaru's vest.

"We don't want to fight you, Naruto," Shikamaru said.

"I don't give a damn what you want," Naruto said before lifting Shikamaru by his vest, standing up in the process, and holding Shikamaru in the air before letting go and punching him in the gut.

Shikamaru coughed up blood from the force of the blow before flying backward into the river between the statues.

Sasuke, Kiba, Neji, and Choji ran over to check on him.

"Shikamaru, are you okay?" Choji asked.

"I'll be fine," Shikamaru said, standing up.

Neji activated his Byakugan and charged toward Naruto. "Stop this, Naruto! Wake up before it's too late!" he yelled as he jumped at him, Naruto meeting him halfway and dodging Neji's attack before hitting him with a kick to the face, grabbing Neji's hip pouch from him before Neji flew back into the water.

"I have woken up, don't you see that?" Naruto asked. "The guy who dreamed of a future of peace and happiness, and being acknowledged as Hokage... he was the one who was asleep. That's why I left the village. It's not the future I dream of anymore... only the past," he said, thinking of all the times he was chased and beaten without knowing why, his hatred of the villagers growing.

Kiba growled and went to all fours. "Beast Mimicry!" he said, becoming more feral looking and charging at Naruto before jumping and spinning. "Tunneling Fang!" he yelled

Naruto dodged and threw a kunai at Akamaru, who dodged while Kiba circled around for another attack, which Naruto countered with a punch to Kiba's face, sending him into the water.

Choji pulled out a case with three pills in it.

Shikamaru gasped. "Choji, you're not resorting to that, are you?"

"I don't have any choice, Shikamaru," Choji said as he pulled out the green pill and put the case away before popping the pill into his mouth. "it's obvious that we'll have to bring him back by force."

"You're right," Sasuke said, activating his Sharingan.

Choji ran at Naruto and jumped into the air, bringing up a kunai chain around himself with the kunai pointing outward. "Expansion Jutsu!" he exclaimed, expanding and holding the kunai in place as he started rolling at Naruto. "Needle Human Boulder!"

Naruto jumped to the shore the group was on, only to be caught in the Shadow Possession Jutsu.

Choji took the opportunty and headed toward Naruto full speed.

Naruto, with slight difficulty, raised his hand, resisting the Shadow Possession.

"No way! He's resisting?" Shikamaru gasped.

Naruto caught and stopped Choji one handed, thanks to the Nine-Tails, and threw him at Shikamaru, who broke the shadow possession to dodge.

"I hope that woke you up," Naruto said. "Now you know I'm not messing around."

Neji ran at Naruto, going into an attack on Naruto's chakra points.

Naruto parried the attacks and punched Neji in the face, sending him through a tree.

"You still think we're on the same side, don't you?" Naruto asked, turning to Shikamaru. "If you're still not convinced, then I'll just have to spell it out for you!" he yelled, charging at Shikamaru and hitting him with a barrage of full strength punches, finishing with a Rasengan to the gut, which sent him through several trees and knocked him out. "One down."

Kiba fed Akamaru a food pill and ate one as well. "Human Mimicry!" he said, the now red furred Akamaru becoming a feral looking version of Kiba, matching Kiba, who was still under the effect of Beast Mimicry.

Choji got the his feet and pulled out the pill case, removing the yellow pill and putting the case away before eating the pill and making a hand sign. "Partial Expansion Jutsu! Both Arms!" he exclaimed, his arms growing larger as Kiba and Akamaru charged and started spinning. "Fang over Fang!" he yelled as he and Akamaru began their assault, with support from Choji as well.

Naruto dodged the attacks and grabbed Kiba and Akamaru by their necks before throwing them into the statue of Madara.

Choji reduced his arms to their normal size and made a hand sign before jumping into the air. "Super Expansion Jutsu!" he yelled, becoming about twice as large as the statue head, and came falling toward Naruto, who braced himself as Choji landed on him. Choji thought that thanks to the Nine-Tails, Naruto would only be rendered unconscious, until he felt himself being lifted slowly.

Naruto lifted Choji off himself, having difficulty even with both arms, and threw him off him, toward Sasuke.

Choji returned to normal size before he hit Sasuke, who was dazed by the impact.

Naruto noticed Neji emerge from the trees, beaten, but still able to fight. Forming a Rasengan, Naruto charged at Neji, who changed his stance.

"Rotation!" Neji yelled, forming the chakra barrier just before the Rasengan hit. The barrier held for near a minute before the Rasengan broke through and hit Neji in the gut, sending him flying into the statue, knocking him out.

"Two down," Naruto said as Kiba and Akamaru stood.

"Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba yelled as they ran at him, Akamaru jumping into the air and spinning. "Dynamic Marking!" he yelled as Akamaru peed on Naruto before landing on Kiba's back. "Combined Transformation!" he yelled as a cloud of smoke engulfed them, revealing a twin headed wolf. "Twin Headed Wolf!" he yelled before charging and jumping into the air. "Wolf Fang over Fang!" he yelled as he started spinning, going at Naruto.

Naruto dodged, feeling the wind from the attack nick his ankle as Kiba came at him again, and hit him with a glancing blow, only for Naruto to be replaced by a log as Kiba stopped and sniffed around, finding Naruto again, he started his attack again. Naruto got an idea, figuring that Kiba couldn't see, given how fast he was spinning, and was tracking him by scent. So he led Kiba down into the valley and tricked him into colliding with the valley wall head on, knocking him and Akamaru out as their transformation was undone. "Three down."

Choji and Sasuke jumped down to face Naruto, who turned to them.

"So pathetic," Naruto said, grinning.

Choji pulled out his pill case again and pulled out the red pill, dropping the case to the ground and taking the pill, his chakra flaring visibly as butterfly wings on his back, that gathered around his hand before he charged at naruto, throwing his punch. "Butterfly Bomb!" he yelled, aiming for a glancing blow to prevent Naruto from fighting.

Naruto grinned and grabbed the wrist of that hand and threw Choji into the valley wall. His attack wasted, Choji passed out. "Four down," he said as he turned to Sasuke. "It's just us now, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared at him, his Sharingan flaring. "Naruto, I won't let you abandon us! You're coming back to the village! Even though I was the only one said it outloud, we all swore to Sakura, that we would bring you back to her! She cried when you left, and begged us to bring you home! She's suffering without you!"

"Good," Naruto said. "She deserves that pain."

"She loves you, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.

"No, she doesn't," Naruto said.

"You have no idea how wrong you are!" Sasuke said. "I'm going to keep my promise! Even if I have to break every bone in your body and drag you back!"

Naruto looked at him, looking confused and perhaps a little sad, if Sasuke's eyes weren't lying. "Why? Why would you go so far for me?"

"Because, you, Sakura, and Kakashi, are the first people I've had meaningful bonds with since my clan was slaughtered," Sasuke said. "I know the pain of being alone. I know what you've been through!"

"Just shut up!" Naruto snapped. "What the hell do you know about it? Sure, you've felt loneliness, but you had a family! I was alone from the very beginning! I'm suffering now because I never had those ties! How could you possibly know what it feels like to go through that?" he yelled.

Sasuke looked at him. "But you have those ties. I've seen you have ramen with Iruka. The way you two act around each other, that's what having a father is like. And our interactions, even though we're rivals, and we fought a lot. That's what having a brother is like! You're more of a brother to me than Itachi ever was! My bond with you is my most cherished one! I won't give it up without a fight!"

Naruto looked the ground for a few moments, a sad look on his face before he reached up and took his headband off before drawing a kunai. "It's too late, Sasuke," he said as he carved a horizontal scratch through the leaf symbol on his headband and put the Kunai away. "It's just too late," he said, putting the headband back on. "I can't turn back."

Sasuke looked at him in shock, his Sharingan gaining a third tomoe in each eye. "I'll do whatever it takes to stop you."

Naruto's gaze hardened. "If that's how it is...then I'll just have to sever that bond!" he said as he took a stance.

Sasuke took a stance as well. "Naruto!"

"Come, Sasuke! It's time you and I had this out... as equals!" Naruto said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So, what do you think of the first chapter? Review and give me your opinions. Until next time, I bid you all a most respectful farewell.


	2. Battle, and Resolve

Heart of Fury

Last time on Heart of Fury, Sakura breaks Naruto's heart and in his heartbreak, he awakens an unknown dojutsu and kills a group of chunin that attack him, and decides to leave the village, and even tells Sakura that he hates her when she tries to stop him, before knocking her out. Once Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, Neji, and Sasuke catch up to him, he is quick to knock out all but Sasuke. Now, their battle is about to begin. Enjoy. On a side note. I noticed that several of my reviews said that they think Sakura admitted her feelings too quickly. There was a reason for her quickly realizing her feelings. It will be explained in good time, but for now, it's like a parlor game where you have to guess what I'm thinking.

**Legal stuff: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Just my fics and ocs.**

Naruto stood across from Sasuke on the river that flowed through the Final Valley, his back to the water fall. "Let's go," he said before charging.

Sasuke's eyes widened. _"I can see!"_ he thought as he blocked Naruto's punch and threw him over his shoulder. _"His moves that were too fast for me before, I can follow them now!"_ he thought as the exchange of blows brought them to the cliff wall and onto it. _"With his every step, every subtle shift in his momentum, the image of his next move... is vividly clear!"_ he thought as the blow exchange continued, going all over the river.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi followed Pakkun, who was tracking Naruto's scent. "I hope we make it in time. I have a bad feeling about this," he said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke and Naruto's battle had come to one of the cliffs, with Sasuke having the advantage.

Sasuke ran through hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he exclaimed, sending the fireball at Naruto, who avoided it. Sasuke then ran at him and knocked him into the air and got him going toward the ground head first. _"Thanks to the Nine-Tails, the Peregrine Falcon Drop will only knock him out."_ he thought as Naruto impacted on the rock, sliding into the water, motionless as Sasuke walked over to him. "Time to go home, dead last."

Naruto suddenlt stood and punched Sasuke in the face, sending him flying back, as a chakra cloak formed around him, taking the vauge shape of a fox with a single chakra tail swishing behind him as he dropped to all fours, the water getting vaporised by the chakra.

"What the?" Sasuke muttered as he got to his feet.

Naruto raised his hand and sent the chakra cloak at Sasuke, grabbing him and throwing him across the valley.

Sasuke rolled to his feet, being pushed onto the defensive. _"I can still predict Naruto, but it's like the chakra has a mind of its own! I can't predict it!"_ he thought as he kept dodging attacks until he and Naruto were back at the statues, on opposite shores. "No choice," he muttered as he activated his curse mark and ran through hand signs, preparing a Chidori, while Naruto prepared a Rasengan, enhancing it with the Nine-Tails' chakra, while Sasuke did the same to his Chidori with the curse mark, the Rasengan turning purple, and the Chidori turning black.

The two stared at each other before jumping at each other.

"NARUTOOOOOOO!" Sasuke yelled.

"SASUKEEEEEEEE!" Naruto yelled.

CHIDORI!

RASENGAN!

Their attacks colliding produced flares of chakra behind them that formed into a black sphere that expanded and soon turned white before exploding, sending a lot of water from the waterfall into the air.

When the light died down, Naruto was standing over Sasuke, who was unconscious, though the strain of the fight forced Naruto to his knees as the water fell back down as rain. After looking at Sasuke for a few moments, Naruto got to his feet and slowly walked away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi arrived about 15 minutes later, and Naruto was long gone. "Looks like he got away," he said as he summoned the rest of his dogs to help carry the team back to the village for medical aid.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura ran through the street toward the hospital, having heard that the team had return, but were banged up pretty bad. Sasuke was conscious, so she went to him. "Sasuke! Where is he?" she asked after entering his room.

Sasuke, who was covered in bandages, looked at her with a pained look. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sakura asked, before thinking. "You didn't... kill him did you?"

"No," Sasuke said. "He... got away."

Sakura gasped, and started tearing up.

"Sakura, please don't cry," Sasuke said. "I swore that I'd bring him back, and I will, even though I failed this time. I **will** bring him back to you," he said, the familiar fire in his eyes.

Sakura dried her tears. "Sorry, Sasuke. You may have to wait for me a bit. But next time, we'll bring him back together, and I promise I won't be dead weight." With that, she left the room and headed to the Hokage Tower, knocking on Tsunade's door.

"Enter," Tsunade said.

Sakura entered and closed the door behind her.

"Sakura, how can I help you?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura looked Tsunade in the eye. "Lady Tsunade, please, make me your apprentice. It's my fault that Naruto-kun left. So I want to be able to help bring him back."

Tsunade smiled. "I can see your resolve, Sakura. I will gladly take you as my student."

Sakura smiled back. "Thank you, Lady Tsunade. I promise, I won't let you down."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke sat in his bed, looking out the window. "I have to get stronger," he said to no one in particular.

"We can help you there," a familiar voice said.

Turning, Sasuke saw Kakashi and Anko. "Thanks, I need all the help I can get, in order to get strong enough to keep my promise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto finally stopped at a cave and set up camp before sitting down and entering his mind, standing before the cage that held the Nine-Tails. "Alright, furball, what do you know about this dojutsu?" he asked, activating it.

The Nine-Tails chuckled. **_"Many years it has been, since I last saw those eyes."_**

"Explain," Naruto said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

And that's chapter two. Hope you enjoy it. Until next time, I bid you all a most respectful farewell.


	3. Slaughter, and Encounter

Heart of Fury

Last time on Heart of Fury, Naruto and Sasuke began their battle, Naruto's Nine-Tails enhanced abilities proving more than a match for Sasuke, until the last Uchiha's Sharingan reached its greatest level of power, allowing him to keep up, until Naruto entered his One-Tailed form, which gave him the advantage since Sasuke couldn't predict the chakra cloak, forcing him to use his curse mark. This culminated into a final clash between a curse mark enhanced Chidori and Nine-Tails enhanced Rasengan, with Naruto knocking Sasuke out and escaping. Upon returning empty handed, Sasuke vows to Sakura that he will bring Naruto back despite the failure, and he and Sakura each gain aid to train and grow stronger, while Naruto makes camp and contacts the Nine-Tails to learn more about his new dojutsu.

**Legal stuff: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Just my fics and ocs.**

"So, furball, what can you tell me about this dojutsu?" Naruto asked his tenet.

"_**Plenty,"**_ the Nine-Tails said. **_"That dojutsu is called the Rinnegan. It is the greatest of all dojutsu, though its occurrence is so rare that most believe it to exist only in legend. I myself have not seen it in centuries. Not since the days of the Sage of the Six Paths."_**

"Sage of the Six Paths?" Naruto asked.

"_**I don't know much about him, but he was the first known possessor of the Rinnegan,"**_ the Nine-Tails said.

"Wait, if the Rinnegan is a Kekkei Genkai, and the Sage of the Six Paths had it first, then that means..." Naruto said.

"_**Yes. It would seem that you are among his last living descendents,"**_ the Nine-Tails said.

"What does the Rinnegan allow me to do?" Naruto asked.

"_**If I'm not mistaken, it allows control of all six chakra natures, as well as access to a line of jutsu unique to those who have the Rinnegan,"**_ the Nine-Tails said.

"So I could learn almost any jutsu I wanted," Naruto said. "Know what any of the unique ones are?"

"_**I know of only three,"**_ the Nine-Tails said. **_"They are Shinra Tensei, Bansho Ten'in, and Chibaku Tensei."_**

"Are there others besides them?" Naruto asked.

"_**Yes, many more. But I know of only the three I have listed,"**_ the Nine-Tails said. **_"I can provide enough information on them for you to teach yourself how to use them, but it will take time to master them."_**

"Alright then," Naruto said. "Explain what they do."

"_**Shinra Tensei allows you to manipulate gravity in such a way as to repel anything you wish, even jutsu. But there is a small period of time that you must wait before you can use it again."**_

"What's the time period?" Naruto asked.

"_**It depends on the intensity and scale of the use, but at minimum, five seconds,"**_ the Nine-Tails said.

"Alright, and the other two?" Naruto asked.

"_**Bansho Ten'in, like Shinra Tensei, manipulates gravity, but instead of repelling objects, it attracts them,"**_ the Nine-Tails said. **_"Bansho Ten'in has the same five second minimum wait time before it can be used again."_**

Naruto nodded. "And the third one?"

"_**Chibaku Tensei allows you to create a small ball of gravity and send it into the sky, where it will attract objects from the ground to it, with a considerable area of effect,"**_ the Nine-Tails said.

Naruto nodded. "Alright. I'll learn Shinra Tensei first, then Bansho Ten'in, and leave Chibaku Tensei for last."

"_**A wise decision. I'm surprised you didn't go for Chibaku Tensei first,"**_ the Nine-Tails said.

"Shut it, furball," Naruto said. "How does Shinra Tensei work?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura stood with Tsunade in the Hokage's library.

"Alright, Sakura, the most basic medical ninjutsu is the Mystic Palm Jutsu, which uses chakra to stimulate the body's cells to accelerate their natural regeneration. Your first task in learning it is to revive a dead fish," Tsunade said before unsealing a dead fish from a scroll on the table.

"Right," Sakura said, getting to work reviving the fish.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Sasuke stood with Anko and Kakashi on a training ground.

"Sasuke, from what I'm told, you used that curse mark during your fight with Naruto, is that true?" Anko asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes. I did use it."

"Well, as it seems you can control it, I'll be helping you to reach its second level," Anko said.

"And I'll be helping you increase your skill with your Lightning Style jutsu," Kakashi said.

"Thank you," Sasuke said.

"No prob, kid," Anko said, pulling out a large scroll.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked.

"This, Sasuke, is the Snake Summoning Contract," Anko said. "Orochimaru let me sign it when I became his student, and now that you're becoming my student, I'm letting you sign it."

"Thank you," Sasuke said as she handed him the contract. "How does this work?"

"Sign the contract in you own blood, then press your fingerprints beneath the signature, also in your own blood," Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded and set the contract on the ground and opened it, seeing Anko and Orochimaru's names before biting his thumb to make it bleed, and signed the contract before pressing the fingerprints of that hand beneath it. "Just you wait, Naruto. I'm bringing you back," he muttered, making Anko and Kakashi smile.

"_He's doing this for a friend's sake, not for his revenge,"_ Kakashi thought. _"I think he's earned the right to learn 'that' jutsu."_

(one year later)

Naruto was walking through a small village, looking to resupply, when he saw a girl about his age sitting alone by a tree, with everyone giving her a wide berth. Grabbing one of the villagers, he asked about the girl.

"That girl has a terrible disease," the man said. "Stay away from her, or you'll be infected."

"So you don't help because you're scared of her illness?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," the man said.

"You make me sick, putting your own needs above those of someone in need," Naruto said, walking toward the girl.

"Stay away from her!" the man insisted.

Naruto ignored him and knelt down in front of the girl. "Hello there. What's your name?"

The girl looked up, seeing Naruto's face, and was so stunned that he would come near her that she couldn't speak.

"Ah, where are my manners?" Naruto asked. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"My name's Amaru," the girl said.

"Nice to meet you, Amaru," Naruto said. "I know someone who can cure you. And I was already looking for the guy he works for. Would you like to come with me?"

Amaru smiled. "Yes. There's nothing for me here. Everyone hates me."

"I could destroy them all if you'd like," Naruto said, a dark grin appearing on his face. "They deserve it. And you know they do."

Amaru hesitated for a moment before returning the grin. "Yeah, they do."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they had supplies and were outside the village, on a cliff overlooking it, Naruto activated his Rinnegan and joined his hands. "I've been wanting to try this out."

"Try what out?" Amaru asked.

"You'll see," Naruto said, pulling his palms apart, creating a small black orb, which he released into the air before joining his hands again. "Chibaku Tensei," he said as the orb caused an eclipse and emitted light over the village, making the villagers look up at it. Though awe quickly digressed into screaming as the ground beneath them and they along with it were sucked up toward the orb, creating a huge sphere of rock. Naruto packed on an extra layer just to make sure the villagers were all dead.

Amaru stared in awe. "That is so cool! Can you teach me to do that?"

Naruto looked at her as he let the sphere fall apart. "Sorry, but without these eyes, you can't use that jutsu," he said as he sat down on a rock. "Now we wait."

"Wait for who?" Amaru asked, sitting down near him.

"The guy I've been looking for has been sighted around here lately. That little show was also meant to get his attention," Naruto said.

About an hour later, two people emerged from the forest, seeing the destruction.

"Who could have done this?" one of them asked, a silver haired young man with glasses and a largely purple outfit with fingerless black gloves and a headband with a music note as its symbol.

"That would be me," Naruto said, getting his attention, plus that of the pale skinned man he was with. "Long time no see, Kabuto, Orochimaru."

"You did this?" Kabuto asked, smirking. "How?"

"I'll keep that detail to myself for now," Naruto said. "The important thing is that I found you."

"And why would you come looking for me, Naruto?" Orochimaru asked.

"Because I want to learn from you," Naruto said.

It was then that Orochimaru noticed the scratch in Naruto's headband. "So you've become a rouge ninja, and turned your back on the Leaf."

"What can I say?" Naruto asked. "I got tired of the abuse. They wanted me gone, so I left."

Orochimaru grinned his snake grin and licked his lips. "Very well, Naruto. I will train you, but what about your friend?"

"This is Amaru," Naruto said. "That rubble used to be her village. She agreed that the people deserved to die for avoiding her and not helping her because they didn't want to catch her illness."

"I think I can help her with that," Kabuto said, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"After you cure me, I have something I'd like you to do," Amaru said.

"And what's that?" Kabuto asked.

"I'd like you to make me your apprentice," Amaru said.

"Well, it would be interesting to have a student," Kabuto said. "Very well. I'll take you as my student."

Amaru bowed. "Thank you, uh, what's your name?"

"Where are my manners?" Kabuto asked. "My name is Kabuto Yakushi."

"Thank you, Kabuto-sensei," Amaru said.

At that moment, a Leaf chunin came out of the forest, seeing Naruto. "The demon!" he gasped.

"It's your call," Orochimaru said.

"He called me a demon. I think that's rather rude, don't you?" Naruto asked as the chunin threw a volley of kunai at him. "Shinra Tensei," as the words left his mouth, the kunai were repelled, falling harmlessly to the ground.

The chunin was too stunned to do anything for the five seconds it took for Naruto's use of the jutsu to return.

"Such a selfish creature," Naruto muttered as he drew a kunai and held up his other hand toward the chunin. "Bansho Ten'in."

The chunin could do nothing as he was pulled toward Naruto, the cold steel of the kunai finding a home in his throat.

"You've certainly changed, Naruto," Kabuto said as they left the corpse and headed for Orochimaru's base. "I never once pegged you as being able to kill in cold blood."

"That Naruto is gone," Naruto said.

"Indeed, and you've learned some interesting jutsu," Orochimaru said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The chunin's squad was getting worried. He had gone to investigate the earthquake and hadn't come back in over an hour.

"He's been gone too long! Something happened!" one of them said.

"Fine, let's go find him," the second one said.

Once they reached the site, they gasped, finding their squadmate dead with a kunai in his throat next to the crater.

"What happened here?" the first one asked.

"We need to report this to Lady Hokage," the second one said as they got their teammate and headed back to the Leaf.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What!" Tsunade yelled. "A whole village destroyed by something!"

"Yes, Lady Hokage," the chunin said. "We thought it was just an earthquake, and our squad leader went to investigate. We went to find him after he'd been gone for an hour, and found him dead with a kunai in his throat next to a crater with a bunch of rubble in it. It had to have been some kind of jutsu."

Tsunade sighed. "Shizune, get me Team 8!"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Shizune said, sending for Kurenai's squad.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kiba, Shino, Hinata, and Kurenai were now going through the forest to the village remains.

"Alright, you know what to do," Kurenai said once they arrived.

Hinata made a hand sign. "Byakugan!" she said, looking around for survivors, soon deactivating her Byakugan. "No survivors. They were all crushed by whatever did this."

Akamaru barked at Kiba, who gasped.

"What is it, Kiba?" Kurenai asked.

"Akamaru says he found Naruto's scent!" Kiba said, stunned.

"What!" Hinata, Kurenai, and even Shino gasped.

"But, Naruto-kun would never do something like this!" Hinata said.

"Yeah! He'd never slaughter a village in cold blood!" Kiba said.

"Even if he was here, he might not have done this, only borne witness to it," Shino said.

"Let's follow the scent!" Kiba said. "Me, Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, and Sasuke all swore to Sakura that day, that we'd bring Naruto back! And I'll be damned if I let a chance like this slip through my fingers!"

Kurenai nodded. "Yes. Let's follow it. Lead the way, Kiba."

Kiba nodded and took off after the scent, his team following. "Look out, Naruto, we're coming for you!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They soon found themselves outside an underground base.

"Hinata, check for traps," Kiba said.

Hinata nodded and checked with her Byakugan, Shino sending some of his bugs for good measure.

"No traps," Hinata confirmed.

"Let's go," Kiba said, leading them inside and through corridors, finally reaching a large antechamber.

"Welcome, old friends," a familiar voice said in a mocking tone.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata said as they looked and saw Naruto sitting on a platform.

Kurenai looked at his posture. "You were expecting us."

"Nothing gets by you, eh Kurenai?" Naruto asked. "I figured from the moment that chunin showed up that you'd be coming to look for survivors of my jutsu, since you're one of the best tracking teams in the Leaf."

"That was you?" Kiba yelled. "You slaughtered an entire village for no reason?"

"You're half right," Naruto said. "I slaughtered them, yes, but I had a reason."

"And what was that reason?" Shino asked, his bugs swarming around him.

"They deserved it," Naruto said. "You see, when I went there to get more provisions, I found a girl who was neglected because no one would help her. They were scared of catching her illness. So they just left her to fend for herself. It made me sick! So I took the girl out of the village when I resupplied, and used one of my new jutsu to destroy that pathetic village and everyone in it," he said, his Rinnegan flaring.

Kiba glared. "Like it or not, Naruto, we're bringing you home!" he vowed as he ate a food pill and fed one to Akamaru. "Beast Mimicry!" he said, becoming more feral looking. "Human Mimicry!" he said, Akamaru transforming into a just as feral looking version of Kiba.

Shino summoned more of his bugs as Hinata took the stance of the Gentle Fist and activated her Byakugan.

Kurenai ran through hand signs quickly and disappeared, a tree growing around Naruto and restraining him.

"Attack now!" Kurenai yelled, her team launching their attacks, thinking Naruto was trapped in Kurenai's genjutsu.

Naruto smirked once they were close enough. "Shinra Tensei!" he said, knocking them away.

Kurenai rolled to her feet. "How? You were trapped, I know you were!"

Naruto smirked at Kurenai. "Jinchuriki who have high levels of cooperation with their tailed beast, are completely immune to genjutsu. Ever since I left, the Nine-Tails and I have gotten along a lot better. So he can use his chakra to break me out of whatever genjutsu I might end up in. So in this fight, you're only a burden, Kurenai," he said before looking at Kiba, Shino, and Hinata. "Give Sasuke this message. Stop chasing me." With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing that he had been a shadow clone all along.

"So that's it," Kurenai said. "He didn't break the genjutsu. It never affected him to begin with. Genjutsu has no effect on clones."

"But what if he was telling the truth?" Shino asked. "What if the Nine-Tails really can break him out of genjutsu?"

Kiba punched the floor. "Dammit!" he yelled, punching the floor repeatedly, cursing each time until Shino and Hinata stopped him.

"Kiba-kun, don't blame yourself," Hinata said.

"She's right, Kiba. You couldn't have known he'd replace himself with a shadow clone," Shino said.

"Come on," Kurenai said. "We need to report this to Lady Hokage."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They were quiet as they entered Tsunade's office.

"How did it go?" Tsunade asked.

"There were no survivors, and it was done by a jutsu," Kurenai said.

"How do you know it was a jutsu?" Tsunade asked.

"Because we met the one who used it," Kurenai said. "It was Naruto."

"Naruto did that?" Tsunade asked, Shizune gasping.

"How did you find him?" Shizune asked.

"Kiba caught his scent, and insisted on following it," Kurenai said. "We followed it to an underground base. We don't know who it belonged to. But Naruto was waiting. And he admitted freely that he destroyed the village, saying it was because they neglected a girl who was sick because they were scared of getting sick themselves. He said he took the girl with him when he left, and destroyed the village. We tried to restrain him, but he used a jutsu to repel us. I don't know what it was, but he called it Shinra Tensei. After that, we found out that it was just a shadow clone."

"I see," Tsunade said. "Shizune, get Sasuke and Sakura.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Shizune said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke and Sakura entered Tsunade's office a few minutes later.

"You summoned us, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Tsunade said. "Team 8 encountered Naruto on their last mission, albeit in the form of a shadow clone."

Sakura gasped. "Naruto-kun? What was he doing?"

Tsunade sighed. "He admitted to an act of genocide."

"Who did he kill?" Sasuke asked.

"He slaughtered an entire village using an unknown jutsu," Tsunade said.

Sakura gasped. "What? Why?" she asked.

"He said it was because they ignored a girl who was sick because they didn't want to get sick," Tsunade said. "It must have reminded him of his own suffering here, and made him take the girl with him when he left, and destroyed the village. And it seems he also killed one our chunin who came to investigate the earthquake his jutsu caused. His scent was found on the kunai."

"He's a murderer," Sakura muttered. "He killed innocent people in cold blood. They'll put him in the bingo book for this!"

"I'll do all I can to prevent that," Tsunade said.

Sakura suppressed a sob. "Thank you, Lady Tsunade."

"Sakura," Kiba said, making her look up at him. "Naruto asked us to tell you to stop chasing him."

Sasuke frowned. "If the dead last thinks we'll give up that easily, he's got another thing coming!"

"Yeah," Sakura said, calming down. "I won't give up on him. I'll correct my mistake no matter what it takes."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto frowned as he meditated in the new base they had relocated too.

"Something wrong, Naruto?" Kabuto asked as he looked over Amaru in order to diagnose her.

"No. Just a weird feeling," Naruto said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alright, hope you like the filler and minor timeskip. Next will be the main two year timeskip to the Shippuden setting. Until next time, I bid you all a most respectful farewell.


	4. Return, and a Lead

Heart of Fury

Last time on Heart of Fury, Sasuke and Sakura began their training to get stronger, while Naruto kept on the move. After a year, Naruto entered a small village to resupply, and found a girl named Amaru who was neglected because everyone was scared of getting her illness, so Naruto took her with him and with her agreement, destroyed the village and killed its people using Chibaku Tensei, which attracted Orochimaru's attention. After killing a Leaf chunin and leaving with Orochimaru and Kabuto, he was tracked by his scent by Team 8 to one of Orochimaru's bases, where they found Naruto waiting for them. After a failed attempt to restrain him, he revealed his newfound immunity to genjutsu, and after giving a message for Sasuke, he revealed that they had been talking to a shadow clone. Even knowing that Naruto had slaughtered innocent people, Sasuke and Sakura refused to give up on him, and Naruto began his training with Orochimaru, while Amaru began learning from Kabuto. For those who don't know, Amaru is not an OC, she is a character from the second Shippuden film. Also, I went back and fleshed out the first two chapters. Check them out if you'd like.

**Legal stuff: I don't own Naruto or any of its character's, just my fics and ocs.**

Sakura was walking through the streets of the Leaf Village toward the gate to get the daily traffic report.

"Hello, Sakura. How are you today?" Kotetsu asked.

"I'm well," Sakura said as he handed her the report. "Anyone interesting come in today?"

"Yeah, Anko and Sasuke are back from their trip," Izumo said.

"That's great!" Sakura said happily, leaving to drop off the report before going to find them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke ran up a power pole to its top to get a better view of the village, and sighed after taking a deep breath. "Good to be back," he said.

"Sasuke, is that you?" a familiar voice called from below.

Looking down, Sasuke saw Sakura, and smiled. "Yeah, it's me."

"When did you get back?" Sakura asked as Sasuke jumped down to meet her.

"Just a few minutes ago," Sasuke said. "You've changed a lot while I was gone."

"So have you," Sakura said, looking him over. He now wore a long sleeved gray shirt with gray arm guards, and black pants, with a black bandana to his headband, and had a sword strapped across his waist, with storage seals on the bottoms of his arm guards.

"Well, now that you two have gotten reacquainted, Lady Hokage wants to see the both of you," Anko said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Let's go, Sakura," Sasuke said as they headed toward the Hokage tower.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke and Sakura entered Tsunade's office a few minutes later.

"Welcome back, Sasuke," Tsunade said.

"Thank you, Lady Hokage," Sasuke said before looking at the window. "Kakashi, you can come in now."

The Copy Ninja proceeded to come in through the window. "How did you know I was there?" Kakashi asked.

"I heard your giggling at your book," Sasuke said, gesturing to the familiar orange book in Kakashi's hand. "Speaking of which," he said as he pulled a green book out of his hip pouch. "A gift from Jiraiya," he said before tossing it to Kakashi, who caught it and held it almost reverently.

"T-This is!" Kakashi stuttered.

"Yup," Sasuke said with a nod. "Make Out Tactics. Not even on the market yet."

Kakashi reluctantly put the book away and looked at his former students. "Alright you two, I'd like you to meet me at training ground seven in an hour," he said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke and Sakura were waiting at the training ground for Kakashi, who, as usual, was late, by two hours.

"Where the hell is he?" Sakura asked, getting impatient.

"Probably reading that book," Sasuke said.

"Yo!" Kakashi said as he appeared in a puff of smoke.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura yelled angrily.

"You know, it just doesn't feel the same when Naruto isn't yelling at me too," Kakashi said, making Sasuke and Sakura go into anime depression. "Oh. He's still a touchy subject," he muttered before holding up and ringing a pair of bells, snapping them out of their depression. "Show me how far you've come. You haven't given up on your Naruto, have you?"

"Not a chance!" Sakura said.

"What do you think we put ourselves through all that training for?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course," Kakashi said as he tied the bells to his waist and closed his book. "Your objective is the same as last time. Take the bells at all costs. And remember..."

"If we aren't prepared to kill you," Sasuke said.

"We won't be able to get the bells," Sakura said, pulling out a pair of black gloves.

"Are you gonna be reading that book the whole time, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked as he activated his Sharingan.

"No he won't," Sakura said, pulling her gloves on. "I bet he already finished it."

"Not quite," Kakashi said as he put the book away. "I'll save that pleasure for later. But I get the feeling I'll need to stay on my toes," he said as he lifted his headband from his left eye, revealing his Sharingan. "You have until sunrise tomorrow to get the bells. Begin!"

Sasuke raised his hand. "Striking Shadow Snakes!" he said, sending four snakes from his sleeve at Kakashi, who dodged them and threw a smoke bomb at his feet.

Kakashi was nowhere in sight when the smoke cleared.

"Where is he?" Sasuke asked, looking around. **"Left? Right? Behind? Above? None of them, so..."** "Sakura! Below us!"

"Right!" Sakura said, punching the ground, shattering it for a wide area, revealing Kakashi, who jumped out of the ground as Sasuke charged, running through hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke exclaimed, exhaling the fireball and sending it flying at Kakashi, who dodged.

Once he escaped the fireball, Kakashi saw Sasuke coming at him, his hand covered in electricity.

"Chidori!" Sasuke yelled as he attacked, only to have his attacked countered by Kakashi's Lightning Blade.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tsunade and Jiraiya watched the fight via the Crystal Ball Jutsu.

"They've grown stronger," Jiraiya said. "But I'm sure Naruto has as well."

"Any leads on him?" Tsunade asked.

"He's pretty much dropped off the map," Jiraiya said. "But I have heard a rumor that for the past two years, he's trained under Orochimaru."

Tsunade gasped at the thought of the boy she thought of as a surrogate son training under that snake.

"Yeah. I don't like the thought either," Jiraiya said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Night had fallen, and Sasuke and Sakura were seeking Kakashi now, when they saw someone in front of them.

"Sasuke, Sakura-chan, help me," Naruto said weakly as he walked toward them, wounded and in obvious need of medical attention.

"Naruto," Sasuke said.

"He's hurt," Sakura said.

"Please, help me," Naruto begged.

"Too bad he's not real," Sasuke said.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "I'd give almost anything to be in Naruto-kun's arms," she said as she made a hand sign.

"Release!" they said together, dispelling the genjutsu.

"Kakashi, did you really think genjutsu would work on a fellow Sharingan user, and one of the most intelligent kunoichi in this village?" Sasuke asked as he reached into his hip pouch, throwing a number of shuriken attached to wires, which he manipulated to tie Kakashi to the tree he was hiding behind.

Kakashi gasped as he was bound. "Uh oh," he muttered.

"Well think again," Sasuke said, running through hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" he said, sending the fire along a wire to hit the tree and Kakashi, finding a log in his place. "Substitution."

After a while, the fight brought them to a lake.

Kakashi ran through hand signs too fast for Sakura to follow, and Sasuke only keeping up due to his Sharingan, running through the same hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke and Kakashi said, launching their fireballs at the same time, canceling each other out.

Kakashi reached up from underground when the fireball disappeared and grabbed Sasuke's ankle. "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" he said, pulling Sasuke underground up to his head, only for him to be replaced by a log.

"That trick won't work a second time," Sasuke said from behind Kakashi.

Sakura jumped at Kakashi with another chakra enhanced punch, going into a taijutsu battle with Kakashi, who quickly jumped onto the water, running through more hand signs, with Sasuke copying them.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Sasuke and Kakashi said, their jutsu again canceling each other out, Sasuke and Sakura using the opportunity to get away from Kakashi.

"We need a plan to distract his hands and Sharingan," Sasuke said.

"Yeah, but what?" Sakura asked, making Sasuke smirk.

"I've got an idea. He hasn't finished that book yet, so all we have to do is threaten to spoil the ending," Sasuke said.

"Great idea, Sasuke!" Sakura said as they headed for Kakashi.

"A frontal attack?" Kakashi asked.

"Kakashi, I know the secret plot twist of Make Out Tactics!" Sasuke said. "It turns out that the hero is none other than..."

"Shut up! I don't want to hear!" Kakashi yelled, covering his ears before realizing the other fact. **"No! I can still read his lips!"** he thought, shutting his eyes, opening them moments later, finding Sasuke and Sakura standing in front of him, holding the bells.

"I tried Make Out Tactics, but it was so boring that I never got past the prologue. I couldn't spoil it if I wanted to," Sasuke said, wearing a smug grin as he deactivated his Sharingan.

"I should have finished the book," Kakashi lamented, covering his own Sharingan as Tsunade and Jiraiya approached them.

"You two pass," Tsunade said. "You're once again a team. You will now be known as Team Kakashi."

"Now all that's left is to bring the dead last home," Sasuke said, noticing Sakura leaning on a tree. "Something wrong, Sakura?"

"Naruto-kun..." Sakura muttered sadly, in anime depression.

"Hey, we'll bring him home," Sasuke assured her.

"I'll still have to prove to him that I love him," Sakura said. "He told me he hates me before he knocked me out that night."

"I know you can convince him that you love him," Kakashi said.

Sakura cheered up and nodded. "Yeah. You're right."

"Anyway, I'm also here to give you your first mission as a team," Tsunade said. "Two members of the Akatsuki infiltrated the Hidden Sand Village and kidnapped Lord Kazekage. You're to go to the Sand Village and assist with his rescue."

Understood," Team Kakashi said together.

"But before you go, I need to inform you of a rumor that my spy network picked up," Jiraiya said, getting their attention. "It seems that for the past two years, Naruto has been training under Orochimaru."

Sakura gasped. "We have to find him! Orochimaru might try to take Naruto-kun's body!"

"Orochimaru used to be a member of the Akatsuki. If we stop the one's that kidnapped Lord Kazekage, we might find more solid info on Naruto's whereabouts," Jiraiya said.

"Then let's get to it," Sakura said. "I won't let Orochimaru take Naruto-kun from me!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they arrived in the Sand Village, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were led to Kankuro's hospital room, where an old lady jumped at Kakashi.

"Revenge at last!" the woman yelled, her attack being blocked by Sasuke.

"What is wrong with you?" Sasuke asked, his Sharingan flaring.

"Sister!" an old man said. "That is not the White Fang. Though he looks like him, he is not him. Besides, you know full well that the White Fang died years ago. When you heard about his death, you wept in frustration, because it meant you would never have revenge."

"Oh," the woman said. "Sorry about that," she said before laughing.

Kankuro yelling in pain and clutching at his throat got everyone's attention.

Sakura tied her hair back and rushed to Kankuro. "Let me take a look at him."

"Please," Temari said as Sasuke, Kakashi, and the old man and lady cleared out to give her room.

Sakura looked in Kankuro's eye with a small flashlight before opening his mouth and looking at his throat. She then listened to his heartbeat. "We're dealing with a heavy metal based toxin. One that attacks the muscle cells and weakens them. Eventually, the heart will collapse and stop functioning altogether. I doubt we can make an antidote in time."

"You mean there's nothing you can do?" Temari asked in a distraught voice.

"There is one thing, but it's risky," Sakura said.

"Please, do whatever it takes to save him!" Temari said.

Sakura nodded. "Alright, I'll need a few things quickly. And I'll need Kankuro to be restrained. This procedure is not pleasant for the patient."

Once Sakura had the needed materials and Kankuro was restrained, she used her chakra to pick up the solution in a metal bucket, forcing it into Kankuro's body to remove the poison and heal the damage while pulling the poison out of an incision, doing this repeatedly until most of the poison was gone. "Okay, I removed most of the poison, so he's not in any immediate danger, but I'll need to quickly make an antidote for the trace that's still in his body."

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," one of the sand medics said.

"I'll need a list of all the medicinal herbs in this village," Sakura said. "Kankuro's bandages need to be changed for new ones, and set up an IV drip STAT. Also, set aside the poison I extracted. I'll be needing it later."

While Sakura set about preparing the antidote, Sasuke looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi, who was the White Fang? I know he took his own life after a botched mission during the third war, but nothing else."

Kakashi closed his book. "Well, he was, my father."

The old woman looked at Kakashi in shock. "You're the son of the White Fang?"

"It does explain the resemblance," her brother said.

"Who are you two anyway?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm Ebizo, this is my elder sister Chiyo," the old man said.

"Nice to meet you," Sasuke said. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, and my pink haired teammate is Sakura Haruno."

"Ah, so you're the last Uchiha," Ebizo said. "I'm sorry to hear what happened to your clan."

"My revenge isn't that important to me anymore," Sasuke said. "I'm a Leaf shinobi first and foremost. If I encounter Itachi, I'll do all in my power to end his life, but if he dies by someone else's hand, that's fine too."

Kakashi looked at Sasuke with pride. **"He's really matured,"** he thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After a few hours, Sakura finished making the antidote and gave it to Kankuro. "There, you should be alright now. Just lie back and rest, and don't move around till the numbness passes."

Kankuro nodded and lied down to rest.

"You remind me of the old Slug Queen, Tsunade," Chiyo said.

Sakura looked at Chiyo. "Lady Tsunade is my teacher. It was by her order that I came here to look at Kankuro."

"I see," Chiyo said as Kakashi stood over Kankuro.

"Kankuro, did you get a scrap of Lord Kazekage's kidnapper's clothing?" Kakashi asked.

Kankuro nodded, pointing to his puppets, the remnants of which had been brought in.

Searching the pieces, Kakashi found a small scrap of cloth in one of Crow's hands. Kakashi quickly summoned his dogs. "Alright guys, find the guy who has this scent," he said, letting them sniff the cloth.

"Alright, we're on it," Pakkun said before he and the rest of the pack left to track the scent.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After the sun set, Sakura went to a rooftop to look at the stars. Something that had become a nightly ritual for her after she found that it helped her sleep. Before she started the stargazing thing, she had to cry herself to sleep every night, thanks to the knowledge that the man she loved was sinking into darkness and claimed to hate her. As the moment he made that statement replayed in her mind, a light trail of tears started flowing down her cheeks.

"You okay?" Sasuke asked as he joined her, noticing that she was quick to dry her tears.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sakura said. "Hard to believe it's been three years since we've seen him."

Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I promised I'd bring him back, and I will."

Sakura smiled at him. "Thanks, Sasuke."

"You're welcome, Sakura," Sasuke said.

"I'd like to be alone for a while," Sakura said.

Sasuke nodded. "I understand," he said before leaving her alone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they had the trail, Team Kakashi set out with Chiyo, who was representing the Sand, for the Akatsuki hideout, while Pakkun headed for Team Guy, who were on their way to serve as back up, to the hideout.

After a while, Sasuke noticed someone, signaling the team to stop. "Itachi," he said, activating his Sharingan.

"We meet again, Sasuke," Itachi said.

"So that is Itachi Uchiha," Chiyo said.

"Itachi Uchiha, you will die here," Sasuke said as Kakashi uncovered his Sharingan.

"Is that so?" Itachi asked as Kakashi, Sakura, and Chiyo disappeared and the skin on the right side of Sasuke's face began peeling off, making him gasp.

"Sasuke..." a voice said. "Sasuke..."

"Is that, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"It's been far too long, Sasuke," Naruto said, his face appearing from under the peeled off skin, and Sasuke's right hand grabbing his throat, gripping hard. "I really should have finished you off the last time we met," he said, making Sasuke think of their fight at the Final Valley.

Another head emerged from Sasuke's belly. "Why?" Sakura asked, making Sasuke gasp. "Why, Sasuke? When Naruto-kun left, why didn't you bring him back to me? I was wrong to believe in you," she said as another head emerged from Sasuke's left shoulder.

"You couldn't even protect your closest friends," Kakashi said. "I expected more from the Uchiha prodigy, but you're a failure."

"As always, no matter what, only you come out ahead," another voice said. Looking at his palm, Sasuke found Gaara's eye on his palm. "Only you achieve happiness."

"Sasuke, why did I believe in you?" Sakura asked.

"You're such a disappointment, Sasuke," Kakashi said.

"Such an easy life. So lucky," Gaara said.

"Now, at long last, I'll finish you," Naruto said.

Sasuke ignored the insults with difficulty. "Just a genjutsu," he said.

"You liar! You broke your promise to me!" Sakura said.

"Such a disappointment," Kakashi said.

"You always get everything," Gaara said.

"I will end you!" Naruto said.

"Sasuke!" Sakura said.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi said.

"Sasuke!" Gaara said.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said.

Sasuke yelled out and dispelled the genjutsu.

"Are you alright, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. He got me in a genjutsu."

"Your skill with the Sharingan has improved," Itachi said.

"I've been training hard for the last three years, brother," Sasuke said.

Kakashi ran at Itachi, who ran through hand signs.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Itachi said, sending out a volley of fireballs that Kakashi dodged before jumping to the air. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he said, sending a fireball at Sasuke, Sakura, and Chiyo.

Sasuke made a tiger hand sign. "Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Jutsu!" he said, sending a larger, dragon shaped fireball at Itachi's fireball, his jutsu absorbing Itachi's and growing stronger as it headed toward Itachi, engulfing him.

"You've grown stronger, Sasuke," Itachi said as he emerged from the treeline, having substituted with a Shadow Clone.

"You're holding back, Itachi," Sasuke said. "You could have easily countered my attack with Amaterasu, which is the greatest Fire Style jutsu."

"Unfortunately, I can't use the Mangekyo Sharingan right now," Itachi said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked.

"That's hardly your concern, Sakura Haruno," Itachi said before Kakashi burst from the ground in front of him, trying to hit him with an uppercut. Itachi dodged the punch and caught the sleeve, pulling Kakashi back down and throwing a punch, which Kakashi dodged, but allowed Itachi to grab the back of Kakashi's head and make eye contact with Kakashi's normal eye. Eye contact established, Itachi attempted to put Kakashi under a genjutsu, remaining silent for a few moments. "Nicely down. You certainly have mastery over your jutsu. Your Earth Style move hid you from view for a moment, so I didn't notice the change," he said as Kakashi grabbed hold of him and held him in place. "It all makes sense. Of course my genjutsu has no effect on you... because you are... a Shadow Clone," he said as a spear of lightning pierced him and the Clone, dispelling the Clone. Which allowed Itachi to see that the spear had come from Sasuke's left hand.

Sasuke looked at him coldly as Kakashi emerged from the ground next to him. "This jutsu is called Chidori Sharp Spear. With it, I can apply a greater degree of Shape Transformation to the Chidori, and form it into this spear form, to strike targets out of the normal Chidori's range."

Itachi smirked. "Truly, you have grown strong, Sasuke," he said before the Chidori Sharp Spear disappeared, allowing Itachi to fall back, dead.

Sasuke looked at the corpse, his eyes widening after a few moments. "I knew something was off when Itachi said he couldn't use the Mangekyo Sharingan!"

The body no longer bore Itachi's visage. Rather, it bore the visage of another man.

Chiyo's eyes widen at the sight of the man.

"Lady Chiyo, do you know who this man is?" Sakura asked.

Chiyo nodded. "His name is Yura. And he's a Jonin of the Sand."

"A Sand shinobi?" Sasuke asked, deactivating his Sharingan.

"The poor fool went missing after Gaara was abducted while the village was still in disarray," Chiyo said.

"Could he have been a spy for the Akatsuki?" Sakura asked.

"No. He served on the council for four years," Chiyo said. "For them to use a jutsu like this to stall us can only mean that the extraction of the Shukaku has already begun."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded, remembering Kakashi's explanation of the Akatsuki's goal somehow involving the Tailed Beasts.

"Let's hurry!" Sasuke said, the group heading off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After resting for the night to regain their strength, the team arrived outside the Akatsuki hideout, right behind Team Guy.

"Late as usual, Kakashi," Guy said.

"Well, we ran into some trouble along the way," Kakashi said.

"Sasuke! Sakura!" Lee said, happy to see them.

"It's been a while, you guys," Sasuke said before looking at the tag on the boulder in front of the entrance. "I'd say we're dealing with a Five Seal Barrier."

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah, it is. Neji, look around and find the other four tags.

"Right," Neji said, activating his Byakugan and finding the other tags.

Once Team Guy was on its way to get them, keeping in touch via radio, Kakashi moved to the fifth one. The plan being for Sakura to destroy the boulder once the barrier was down, and to enter via the Button Hook Entry.

Kakashi soon ripped his tag off in tandem with the others. "Now Sakura!"

"Right!" Sakura said, running at the boulder and punching it with her monster strength, smashing it. She and Kakashi moved into position as it crumpled.

Once it was down, they entered, finding Gaara's kidnappers sitting on his body, the Shukaku having been extracted just before they arrived.

"A pity. You're too late, hm," Deidara said.

"Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand," Kakashi muttered as Deidara made a huge clay bird that picked Gaara up in its beak.

"See you around, my man," Deidara said.

"Kakashi, Sakura, go after him," Sasuke said. "I'll stay here and help Lady Chiyo fight Sasori."

"Sasuke, are you sure?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. As a medical ninja, you're highly skilled at evasion, but Sasori's attacks have to be dodged perfectly. I stand a better chance at it thanks to the Sharingan."

Sakura nodded. His Sharingan did give him a better chance of avoiding the attacks. "Alright, but take these," she muttered, slipping a couple of loaded syringes into his hip pouch. "The antidote. There's only two doses though, so be careful."

Sasuke nodded. "Thanks, Sakura."

"Let's go, Sakura!" Kakashi said.

Sakura nodded and followed Kakashi out of the cave to pursue Deidara.

Sasuke looked at Sasori with a cold look as his Sharingan activated.

Chiyo used a chakra thread to send several kunai flying at Sasori, who deflected them with a stinger from under his cloak, though a couple cut through his cloak, making it come off, revealing him.

"What is that thing?" Sasuke asked.

"That is not Sasori's real body," Chiyo said.

"So I noticed. What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"That... is a puppet," Chiyo said.

"Then where's his real body?" Sasuke asked. "I don't see any chakra threads linking him to it."

"His real body is inside that one," Chiyo said.

"Inside?" Sasuke asked.

"Puppeteers aren't so good at close combat. Manipulating puppets during battle leaves them wide open to attack," Chiyo said. "It was to overcome that weakness that Sasori created this puppet. It serves as his armor, and his weapon as well. It's Sasori's specialty, Hiruko."

"You seem to know a lot about it," Sasuke said.

Chiyo nodded. "I know everything about that puppet."

"But do you know how I prepare a new specimen for my collection?" Sasori asked. "First, I drain its blood. Then I remove all the organs and wash it inside and out. Get it nice and clean. And then, after I've preserved the body against decay, the final step is to fill it with hidden weapons. As the hag said, this one is called Hiruko. It's only one of the specimens in my collection. Once I've added you and the boy, I'll have collected exactly 300. This is my art!"

"Art?" Sasuke asked.

"Long ago, when he lived in the Hidden Sand, he was renowned as a master craftsman. Admired and feared for his many extraordinary puppets," Chiyo said. "But his true passion was for making puppets out of the living, and adding them as specimens to his collection. He calls this monstrous conduct art."

"And the same fate awaits you. You will soon become another of my works of art," Sasori said.

"This puppet is highly skilled in attack and defense. Deadly at both," Chiyo said. "If we are to defeat Sasori, we'll need to destroy Hiruko. But that will require enormous destructive power that I simply don't have."

"I do," Sasuke said. "That puppet won't hold out against my Chidori."

"Before you can ever get to him, he will strike at you with all his hidden weapons. You can't risk even the slightest scratch," Chiyo said.

"Right," Sasuke said, drawing a kunai. "Let's get him."

Chiyo nodded, removing her hair band and undoing the bun in her hair. "Yes."

Sasuke noticed her chakra threads attach to him thanks to the Sharingan, no doubt to help him dodge.

Sasori ripped off Hiruko's veil as Sasuke and Chiyo charged.

Sasuke saw the puppet's mouth open and start firing a barrage of senbon quickly. He couldn't help but smirk as he dodged with ease. **"Obviously he's never faced a Sharingan user before,"** he thought as the senbon barrage continued for a couple of minutes before stopping.

Sasori closed Hiruko's mouth and fired off its torpedo shaped forearm. "Now die!" he exclaimed as it started firing senbon in all directions.

Sasuke and Chiyo avoided the senbon with ease. Sasuke then ran at Sasori, throwing his kunai, which Sasori deflected before trying to stab Sasuke's head with his stinger, only for it to stop cold. Seizing the chance, Sasuke ran through hand signs and gripped his wrist, lightning chakra crackling in his palm with the sound of many birds chirping. "Chidori!" he exclaimed as he slammed it into the puppet, shattering it as Sasori jumped out.

"So that's his real body," Sasuke said, jumping back to Chiyo's side.

"Well played," Sasori said as he stood. "I should have expected no less from my own granny. No wonder even a kid like that could dodge my attack so easily. You can foresee my attacks, old woman. Then you control the boy with your Puppetmaster Jutsu. By the way, how clever of you to attach chakra threads to Hiruko's tail too. Silly me. I only noticed when the tail's motion was brought to an abrupt halt. You did it when you threw those kunai, didn't you? The thread tied to the knives stuck to his tail once they were deflected."

"Good. Even though I used the smallest bit of chakra to keep the strings undetectable, you still figured it out," Chiyo said.

"But of course. Remember who taught me how to play with puppets, who drilled the talent into me. It was you," Sasori said as he grabbed the cloth covering his head.

"Indeed. But unfortunately playtime is over," Chiyo said.

"You don't know how right you are," Sasori said, pulling the cloth off his head.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Lady Chiyo, is that really Sasori?"

"Your face is exactly the same. You haven't aged," Chiyo said.

"How could he be that young?" Sasuke asked. "You said he left the Sand Village 20 years ago."

Sasori smiled a bit. "What's wrong, Granny Chiyo? Are you so filled with emotion that you can't speak? I'm not surprised. It's our first reunion in 20 years. While I have you, let me show you something special," he said as a scroll slid from his sleeve into his hand. "I guarantee it will move you," he said as he held it up. "This piece was particularly difficult to acquire," he said as he unrolled it. "But on the other hand, that's what makes me so fond of him," he said as he released the puppet within.

Chiyo gasped as the smoke cleared. "No. That can't be. Impossible!"

"What's impossible?" Sasuke asked as the puppet was revealed.

"It's him. It's the third Kazekage," Chiyo said.

"The third Kazekage?" Sasuke asked.

Sasori chuckled darkly. "What do you think? Doesn't he just take you back, Granny Chiyo?"

"Lady Chiyo, what does this mean?" Sasuke asked.

"It's been over 10 years since the third Kazekage disappeared from the village without a trace. We scoured the countryside, but could never find him. The strongest of our Kazekage... simply vanished," Chiyo said. "Sasori, it was you?"

"Yeah, and what if it was?" Sasori asked. "I'm not afraid of a retired old woman. You've got one foot in the grave and you want revenge? You can't even touch me."

"Retired? One foot in the grave? Maybe. But if I hadn't hauled this old body here to face you, I'd have died with far too many regrets," Chiyo said. "My own grandson. It's bad enough you got yourself mixed up with evil people. But to think you could betray your own village and meddle with a Kazekage for the third time!"

"Third time?" Sasuke asked.

"Orochimaru may have been the one who killed Gaara's father, the fourth Kazekage. But Sasori was complicit from the beginning. And now he's taken Gaara, and the third Kazekage too," Chiyo said.

"Wait a minute. I wasn't involved with the death of the fourth Kazekage. That was all the doing of one of my agents," Sasori said.

"Then it's the same as if you did it with your own hands!" Chiyo said. "Do you claim you weren't involved at all?"

"It's true that Orochimaru and the Akatsuki have some history. We've done some work together," Sasori said.

Sasuke's eyes widened as Orochimaru's face at the time he branded him with the Curse Mark flashed through his mind, followed by an image of Naruto's uncaring face from their last encounter at the Final Valley. "So you were."

"Huh?" Chiyo muttered.

"If you worked with Orochimaru, then you know all about him and his activities," Sasuke said, his eyes narrowing. "Meaning that you've got all the answers that me and Sakura are looking for."

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I really must eliminate you and meet up with Deidara," Sasori said. "I do hate to keep people waiting. Sadly there's no time to answer your questions," he said before sending his puppet to attack.

Sasuke fell into a stance, drawing his sword to block a claw weapon that extended from the puppet's sleeve, pushing it back before jumping away.

"Slick move, kid, but how are you going to block this?" Sasori asked as his puppet raised its left arm before flaps opened along the forearm, revealing summoning seals.

"No!" Chiyo gasped.

"Here goes!" Sasori said as he made a one handed hand sign, summoning innumerable puppet arms from the seals, sending them all at Sasuke, burying themselves in the ground section he was standing on.

"Sasuke!" Chiyo exclaimed as the dust cleared, showing that Sasuke had not been pierced.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. **"Without my Sharingan, I'd have been killed,"** he thought.

Sasori sighed. "Thanks to the old lady controlling the action, and the Sharingan's predictive capabilities, I'm not getting anywhere," he muttered as Sasuke stood. "Let's try this," he muttered as Sasuke jumped out of the arm forest, a pipe emerging and letting off a gas cloud.

"Quick, hold your breath, Sasuke!" Chiyo exclaimed.

"Poison!" Sasuke gasped as the cloud engulfed him.

"That Sharingan won't save you from the gas," Sasori muttered.

Sasuke stood in the gas. **"I'm alright. I managed not to inhale it,"** he thought.

Sasori saw Sasuke move to leave the gas cloud. "I don't think so," he said, firing out some rope kunai, tying Sasuke up.

"So you're determined not to let the child go, are you?" Chiyo asked.

"It's useless Granny. If one breaths even a hint of this poison, you're a goner," Sasori said.

Sasuke ran through hand signs, Naruto and Sakura running through his mind. **"I swore that I would bring him back to her. I won't die before I fulfill that promise!"** he thought as he finished the hand signs, glad that he had already sucked in air before the cloud engulfed him. **"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu!"** he thought as he expelled the air he had sucked in, the fire dragon that emerged dispersing the cloud, and burning the ropes that held him, along with the summoned puppet arms, hot enough to turn them to ash.

Sasori detached the forearm to allow the puppet itself to escape the flames, a buzzsaw emerging in its place and starting to spin.

"Sasori of the Red Sand..." Sasuke began. "I will defeat you. You can blow my limbs off... and poison me until I can no longer move. But I'll still find a way to defeat you. No matter what you do, I'll make sure you tell me everything about Orochimaru."

"Why would you want to know about Orochimaru?" Sasori asked.

"Three years ago, a friend that I consider a brother, became a rouge ninja, and went to train under Orochimaru. My pink haired teammate who went after your partner, she loves Naruto, and I made a promise to her, that I would bring him back to her. And that is a promise I intend to keep!" Sasuke said, the Curse Mark spreading and covering his body before its glow stopped, his skin a dark gray, his scleras black, and his hair longer and now dark blue. "I will hold nothing back," he said as he made a hand sign. "Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Jutsu!" he said, breathing several fire dragons out the cave roof and into the air, the roof caving from the damage.

Once all the rubble was dodged, Chiyo summoned a couple of puppets.

Sasori recognized the puppets. "So, you brought them."

"Yes. The very first puppets you ever crafted," Chiyo said. "The Father... and the Mother."

"What could you possibly hope to accomplish with them?" Sasori asked. "Those puppets were made by my hand. I know all their tricks."

"You're quite certain of that," Chiyo said as the Father's left sleeve let out a kunai whip, and the Mother's right sleeve dropped a sword into its hand. "Sasuke, clear out of the way."

"Right," Sasuke said, jumping to Chiyo's side.

Chiyo and Sasori's puppets then went into a fast paced duel that Sasuke only followed thanks to the Sharingan. Once the puppets separated, the extent of the damage to their weapons could be seen.

"This is starting to get messy," Sasori said. "Better play my next hand," he said as his puppet's mouth opened, releasing iron powder.

"So my suspicions were true. That's the third's jutsu," Chiyo said.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, noting the clouds gathering over the hideout.

"The most terrifying weapon in the history of the Sand Village: the Iron Sand," Chiyo said.

"Iron Sand?" Sasuke asked.

"The original jutsu of the third Kazekage," Chiyo said. "It can mold particles of Iron Sand into any shape or weapon. Forming the perfect weapon for every situation. The third had a Kekkei Genkai that allowed him to convert his infused chakra into magnetic forces. This puppet has the same ability. It's manipulating the sand by making its chakra magnetic."

"There are people outside the Osoreida clan who use human puppets?" Sasuke asked.

"The Osoreida clan of the Mist?" Chiyo asked.

"Yeah, their heir, Ling Osoreida once had a human puppet made from Sakura's grandmother," Sasuke said.

"Hisana Haruno? The most powerful kunoichi that clan ever produced?" Chiyo asked.

"Yeah," Sasuke said. "Sakura smashed that puppet when she fought Ling. He was pretty pissed."

"Understandable, since human puppets can't be repaired once destroyed," Sasori said, the Iron Sand forming into weapons as it started raining.

"Just in time," Sasuke said.

"What do you mean, Sasuke?" Chiyo asked as lightning flashed.

"The conditions are right," Sasuke said, running through hand signs and forming a Chidori in his hand, lifting it above his head, where it shot up into the lightning storm. "I've been wanting to try this in a real battle."

(flashback)

"So, Kakashi, what are you going to teach me?" Sasuke asked, looking around the deserted area they were in.

Kakashi shot several fire dragons into the air before looking at Sasuke. "Most people believe that Chidori is my only original jutsu, but that's not true. I have created two Lightning Style jutsu. Chidori is one, and I hardly ever use the other because of its environmental requirement."

"What's the requirement?" Sasuke asked as clouds gathered.

"A lightning storm," Kakashi said as it started raining and lightning flashed.

(end flashback)

Sasuke looked at Sasori as a creature made from lightning emerged from the thunder cloud with a roar. "This jutsu is called Kirin. With it, I can command the lightning to attack," he said as Kirin rose into the cloud before Sasuke swung his hand down, causing the lightning to strike the third Kazekage puppet and destroy a large portion of the area around it, Chiyo using the chakra shields on the Mother and Father puppets to protect herself and Sasuke from the blast and debris.

"Congratulations," Sasori said as the dust cleared, looking at the remains of the Kazekage puppet. "You have succeeded in making me very angry," he said as he started unbuttoning his cloak. "I haven't been forced to solve a problem this way since I joined the Akatsuki. I wonder how long it's been," he said as he removed his cloak, shocking Sasuke and Chiyo.

"Now I see... the reason he hasn't aged a day," Chiyo said. "Of course age doesn't affect him. The reason is staring us right in the face."

"Oh yes, it's been a while indeed... since I last used myself," Sasori said, revealing his body to be a puppet, with a five clawed blade on each side of his waist, a scroll carrier on his back, an unknown device in each side of his chest, and a coiled cable stinger in his stomach area, which he used to raise himself above the ground. "Welcome to Hell," he said as he pulled out a scroll and opened it and the right side of his chest as numerous puppets emerged from the scroll, and an equal number of chakra threads emerged from his chest to control them. "Secret Red Move: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"

Chiyo looked at Sasuke. "Is it possible to use that Kirin jutsu again?"

"No," Sasuke said as the clouds began clearing. "Once used, the storm that produced it disperses, limiting use to once a fight."

"I see," Chiyo said as she pulled a scroll from her bag. "I forbade even myself use of this jutsu. I never imagined I would use it again," she said as she summoned the ten puppets within it. "Secret White Move: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets."

"My Mother and Father puppets, along with the first puppetmaster, Monzoemon's ten masterpieces," Sasori said. "An exquisite collection that you once used to destroy an entire fortress. However... I used these..." he said, gesturing to his hundred puppets, "...to destroy an entire nation."

"Sasuke, use this," Chiyo said, one of her puppets releasing an orb from its mouth and giving it to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded. "Right."

Sasori sent his puppets at Sasuke and Chiyo, poison visible on their weapons.

Sasuke drew his sword and channeled Chidori through it. "Chidori Sword!" he said, slicing through the puppets, fighting his way toward Sasori as Chiyo's puppets gave him back up, two joining hands and acting as a flail/chakra buzzsaw, slicing through puppets, while another pair beat them with taijutsu, one with swords sliced through them, another hit them with pointed cables from its head, and another three made a pyramid and each made a tiger hand sign, opening their mouths to reveal a different character.

"Three Treasures Suction Crush!" Chiyo said, a vacuum sucking puppets into the space between the three and crushing them.

Sasuke saw a space in the puppets that gave him a clear shot at Sasori, and threw the object Chiyo gave him with great force, the object expanding into a large lion mouthed object that pinned Sasori to the cave wall, his chakra being sealed up, causing his puppets to fall to the ground.

"We've done it," Chiyo said before Sasuke ran behind her and stabbed something. Turning, she saw that he had saved her from Sasori, who was now in a different puppet.

Sasori gasped, blood trickling from his mouth as he looked at his blocked blade and Sasuke's in the device in his chest. "How?"

"Thanks to the Sharingan, I am able to see chakra, and I couldn't help noticing that all your chakra was coming from that device I just stabbed," Sasuke said. "Every ninja has a weakness. Yours is the one remaining human element that allows you to produce and manipulate chakra."

"Not bad," Sasori said. "Now I guess I'll do something pointless. Think of it as a reward for defeating me. You wanted to know about Orochimaru, right?"

Sasuke nodded. "Tell me everything."

"Go to the Tenchi Bridge in the Village Hidden in the Grass, ten days from now at noon," Sasori said.

"Why? What's there?" Sasuke demanded.

"One of Orochimaru's henchmen is working for me as a spy... and that's where I'm supposed to rendezvous with him. However... I don't think I'll..." Sasori never finished his sentence due to his death.

"Finally!" Sasuke said, withdrawing his sword and sheathing as Sasori fell to the ground. "I finally have a lead on Naruto!" he said as he deactivated his Sharingan. "Let's go! We need to catch up with the others!"

Chiyo nodded. "Yes."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After rescuing Gaara from Deidara, Sakura pronounced him dead.

"Most Jinchuriki become so at birth, right Lady Chiyo?" Sakura asked, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"That's correct," Chiyo said.

"Jinchuriki are called monsters," Sakura snarled. "But the real monsters are the people who turn them into Jinchuriki!" she exclaimed, rounding on Chiyo. "If you hadn't sealed that monster in Gaara, he'd still be alive! If the extraction of a Tailed Beast kills the Jinchuriki, then that's another burden for them! Who are you to place that fate on them?" she yelled.

"Sakura, calm down," Sasuke said.

"It's alright," Chiyo said. "her anger is justified," she said, walking over to Kankuro and handing him three scrolls. "Kankuro, I leave the Mother and Father puppets, and Chikamatsu's ten masterpieces in your hands."

"Lady Chiyo, what are you...?" Kankuro muttered before the old woman knelt down by Gaara and put her hands on his chest, a blue aura surrounding them.

"What is that? A medical ninjutsu?" Sakura asked.

"No," Chiyo said. "This is a reanimation ninjutsu that I originally developed for Sasori. Using this jutsu, life can be breathed into anything... even puppets. At the cost of the user's life of course," she said, feeling herself grow weaker. "Sasuke Uchiha, do an old woman a favor."

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"Bring your friend back from the darkness, and make sure that the bonds between nations that my generation discouraged, become reality in your generation."

Sasuke nodded. "I will."

Chiyo smiled as her life faded away.

As Chiyo fell over, Gaara began to stir, and sat up. "W-What happened?" he asked.

"The Shukaku was extracted from you, and you died, but Lady Chiyo brought you back," Kankuro said.

"I'll have to thank her when she wakes. It appears she tired herself out," Gaara said, looking at Chiyo.

"She's not sleeping," Sakura said. "She gave her life to bring you back. She's dead."

"I see," Gaara said. "Let us pray for her."

Everyone nodded, bowing their heads.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Following Chiyo's funeral, the Leaf Shinobi were seen off by Gaara and his siblings.

"Have a safe journey, and I hope that you are able to save Naruto," Gaara said.

"We **will** save him," Sakura said.

"I believe you will," Gaara said before the Leaf ninja headed home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they returned to the Leaf, Sasuke and Sakura went to Tsunade.

"How did the mission go?" Tsunade asked.

"With help from Lady Chiyo, I killed Sasori of the Akatsuki, and Lady Chiyo gave her life to revive Gaara. And before he died, Sasori gave us a lead on Naruto," Sasuke said.

Sakura and Tsunade gasped. "What's the lead?" Sakura asked.

"Sasori said that he was supposed to rendezvous with a spy in Orochimaru's ranks at the Tenchi Bridge in the Hidden Grass Village in ten days. Three days have passed, and it takes three to reach the grass village, so we need a new team member to fill in for Kakashi, since we can't wait on him to recover," Sasuke said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In an underground chamber, a young man dressed in a black outfit that showed his stomach with a tanto behind his right shoulder knelt before an old man who had the right half of his face covered in bandages, and his right arm was within his robe, a cane in his left hand.

"You understand your assignment," the old man said. "For this mission, you will be called Sai."

"Understood, Lord Danzo," Sai said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Finally. New chapter is finished. Hope you enjoy it.


	5. New Teammate, and Defeat

Heart of Fury

Last time, Team Kakashi was reformed and sent to the Sand to rescue Gaara. Though Sasori was killed, Gaara still died, but Chiyo brought him back at the cost of her life. Though the Akatsuki got the Shukaku, Sasuke and Sakura got a lead on Naruto. Now they follow up on that lead.

**Legal stuff: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Just my fics and ocs.**

Sasuke walked through the village killing time before he had to meet with his team, soon encountering a familiar duo. "Long time no see, Choji, Shikamaru," he said.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Choji exclaimed, happy to see him. "It's been too long!"

"Yeah. You get back then rushed to the Sand. Must have been troublesome," Shikamaru said.

"Not really," Sasuke said. "I finally got a lead on Naruto."

"That's great!" Choji said. "Won't be much longer now!"

"Yeah. He'll be back here in Sakura's arms soon," Shikamaru said.

Sasuke nodded in agreement before he frowned and threw his arm out, using his Chidori Sharp Spear to pierce something above Shikamaru, who turned to see a tiger that collapsed into ink. "What was that?" Sasuke wondered, activating his Sharingan as he dispelled the Chidori Sharp Spear. "The ink is laced with chakra," he said as he looked at a building, seeing a guy in a black outfit that revealed his midriff. "He did it," he said, drawing his sword.

"Go, Sasuke! We'll be your backup!" Shikamaru said, crouching as he made hand signs.

Sasuke nodded and ran at the attacker, Shikamaru's shadow in his wake.

The attacker drew several tigers on his scroll and made a one handed hand sign. "Ninja Art: Super Beasts Scroll!" he said, causing the tigers to come to life and jump off the scroll, growing to full size and charging at Sasuke.

Shikamaru's shadow lifted off the ground and split into tentacles. "Ninja Art: Shadow Stitching!" he said, the shadows disposing of the tigers and letting Sasuke and the attacker, who drew a tipless tanto to parry Sasuke's attack.

"You're weak," the attacker said, wearing a fake smile as he jumped away.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, his Sharingan flaring.

"In due time, Sasuke-kun," the attacker said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Who cares anyway?" Sasuke muttered as he sheathed his sword and deactivated his Sharingan.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun! Long time no see!" he heard Ino call from behind him. Not wanting to think about what just happened, he jumped down to see her. "Wow, Sasuke-kun, you sure got more handsome!" Ino said, smiling at him.

"Thanks, Ino," Sasuke said, giving her a small smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After talking with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio for a bit, Sasuke went to meet his team, finding Sakura and two new faces, one of whom he recognized. "You!" he snarled at his earlier attacker.

"You've already met Sai?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I have," Sasuke said.

"Nice to meet you, Sasuke-kun," Sai said.

"Whatever," Sasuke said, looking at the other new guy. "Who are you?"

"I'm Yamato. Nice to meet you," Yamato said. "I'll be leading the squad."

Sasuke looked at Sai.

"If you keep staring at me, I will hit you," Sai said, causing Sasuke to get defensive.

"Who do you think you are? Saying things like that!" Sasuke said, frowning at Sai while gripping his sword hilt.

"I have nothing against you. Just trying a certain personality type is all," Sai said, smiling that fake smile.

Sasuke let go of his sword in favor of activating his Sharingan. "We don't need you on this team. You really rubbed me the wrong way."

"Enough. That's no way to talk in front of your team captain, Sasuke," Yamato said. "Didn't Kakashi teach you about teamwork?"

"No! He's not one of us! The fourth member of Team Kakashi is Naruto Uzumaki!" Sasuke said, glaring at Sai. "He will never be part of Team Kakashi!"

Sai remained impassive. "I'm glad you feel that way," he said, getting Sakura's attention as well. "Naruto is a traitor. He betrayed the Leaf and joined Orochimaru. I'm not a traitorous cockroach. I can't fill in for someone like that."

That pushed Sasuke over the edge. "You little...!" he snarled, reaching for his sword, only for Sakura to stop him.

"Sorry about Sasuke, Sai," Sakura said. "I hope you can forgive him. Me on the other hand..." she said before slugging Sai across the road. "I don't care if you forgive me or not! If you ever badmouth Naruto-kun like that again, I'll knock you into next week!" she exclaimed, glaring at Sai with such intensity that if looks could kill, Sai would have been reduced to a black mark on the ground.

"Alright, enough. Let's get going," Yamato said as Sai stood.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After traveling for a few hours, Yamato stopped the group. "Got a minute, guys? I'd like to get something out of the way."

"And what's that?" Sasuke asked.

"This team was thrown together, and we don't know each other well. I'd like to have a sparring match so that we know what we're all made of," Yamato said. "We'll fight a mock battle in teams of two. Sasuke and Sai will be one team, and Sakura and myself will be the other."

"You expect me to work with him?" Sasuke asked, glaring at Sai.

"I can't wait," Sai said, smiling his fake smile.

"I want all three of you to take this seriously," Yamato said.

"Fine," Sasuke said.

Once the battle started, Sai jumped back while Sasuke ran at Yamato, Sharingan blazing, sword drawn. After dodging a blow from Sakura, wood bars began emerging from the ground to restrain him. "Chidori Stream!" he said, escaping the wood with his lightning jutsu. **"Wood Style! That's the power of the first Hokage! How does he possess it?"** Sasuke thought as he grabbed Yamato and paralyzed him long enough to defeat Sakura. "So, how was that?"

"Not bad, Yamato said as Sai reappeared.

Sasuke glared at Sai. "Do you even know what the word comrade means?"

"In fact, I do," Sai said calmly.

"Then why didn't you back me up?" Sasuke demanded.

"It's impractical to fight while covering for someone who's lost his cool," Sai said, unintimidated by the Sharingan. "Helping such a person would only endanger me as well."

"What?" Sasuke asked. "I will never accept you as my comrade!"

"What would Naruto have done?" Sai asked. "Would he have covered for you? You consider him a comrade, yes? Though I fail to see how you can call a traitor to his own village a comrade."

Sasuke scoffed. "If it means saving Naruto, then I'll do whatever it takes... even ally myself with you."

"Alright, let's get moving again," Yamato said.

Sakura nodded. "Yes sir."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As nightfall neared, they set up camp. "We'll reach Tenchi Bridge tomorrow, then wait for the spy," Yamato said. "Sasuke, I need you to tell me everything you know about Sasori. Since I'll be impersonating him to meet the spy."

Sasuke nodded. "He was always moving around in his Hiruko puppet, which itself wore the Akatsuki uniform. He didn't seem to like waiting or to be kept waiting, so he was always grumpy and demanding. The puppet gave him a really deep voice as well."

Yamato nodded. "Alright. We'll discuss tactics over the rest of the days we're waiting."

After dinner, Sasuke started looking at the stars with Sakura, and thought back to when Squad 7 first formed.

(flashback)

"Alright, I'd like you tell us a little about yourselves. Name, dreams, things like that," Kakashi said from his seat on the rail.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen, comparing different types of ramen. I hate the three minutes you have to wait for instant ramen. And my dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then everyone'll stop disrespecting me, and treat me like I'm somebody!" Naruto said energetically.

(end flashback)

Sasuke smiled at the memory, before another one popped up.

(flashback)

"Wake up, Naruto! Before it's too late!" Neji yelled as he jumped at Naruto, only to have his attack dodged and get knocked away with a kick to the face while Naruto swiped his hip pouch.

"I have woken up. Don't you see that?" Naruto asked. "That guy who dreamed of a future of peace and happiness... and being acknowledged as Hokage. He was the one who was asleep. That's why I left the village. It's not the future I dream of anymore... only the past."

(end flashback)

"Naruto," Sasuke muttered.

"I'm curious," Sai said, getting Sasuke and Sakura's attention. "Why do you feel so strongly about Naruto?"

"Naruto's more than just a teammate to me," Sasuke said. "He's like a brother."

Sai nodded. "And you, Sakura-san?"

Sakura looked at her feet and clenched her chest, over her heart. "I love Naruto. But I was so stupid that I didn't realize it until he left. Now, all I want is to bring him home and get him to let me back into his heart. It's my fault he left. I broke his heart... now I have to mend it. It won't be easy, but I **will** get him back."

"Sakura-san... you and Sasuke-kun are being considerate of Naruto's feelings, correct?" Sai asked. "I don't understand how such feelings come about."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The days passed quickly, and the day came to meet the spy. Yamato disguised himself in a replica of Hiruko made from his Wood Style jutsu, while Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai stayed hidden.

Yamato stood on the bridge, waiting for the spy, who arrived several minutes after noon. "You're late," he said in a perfect imitation of Sasori's voice. "You know I don't like to be kept waiting."

"I apologize, Lord Sasori," the spy said, revealing his face, which had glasses and silver hair.

"**Kabuto Yakushi!"** Yamato thought. **"He's the spy?"**

"It's been about five years, I believe," Kabuto said.

"Were you followed?" Yamato asked.

"It's just us. But please keep it brief, our time is short," Kabuto said.

"Then I'll get to the point," Yamato said. "I want information about the location of Orochimaru's hideout, as well Naruto Uzumaki."

"We move to a different one every week to avoid being discovered," Kabuto said. "We're currently using the one north of here. Naruto is there as well."

"I see," Yamato said.

"Now, about the item you promised me," Kabuto said. "Let's do the handoff and part ways. If I were discovered speaking with you like this, Orochimaru would kill me."

"I know," Yamato said as a newcomer appeared behind Kabuto.

"What have we here?" Amaru asked, grinning darkly. "Naughty naughty. Fraternizing with Sasori are you, sensei? Orochimaru wouldn't like that," she said as Kabuto jumped over to Yamato.

"So, Orochimaru had Kabuto followed, did he?" Yamato asked before Kabuto tore the disguise apart with a chakra scalpel. Yamato jumped away. "Impossible! Did he know?"

"You were obviously playing me from the start," Kabuto said.

"Kabuto, you're supposed to be an Akatsuki spy," Yamato said.

"Did you really think I'd be his spy forever?" Kabuto asked.

"Did Orochimaru use his powers to turn you?" Yamato asked.

"No," Kabuto said, throwing off his cloak. "I empathize with Lord Orochimaru's ideals. I'm with him of my own free will."

"Now then, why don't you have your underlings come out?" Amaru asked, crossing her arms under her cloak.

Yamato signaled, and Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai jumped in front of him.

"You again, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto said. "How's the Curse Mark treating you?"

"Give Naruto back!" Sasuke snarled, grabbing his sword hilt.

"it's not that simple, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto said. "Naruto-kun came to us of his own accord. He actually slaughtered Amaru's village just to get our attention. Why can't you accept the truth?"

"Stay out of our way!" Sasuke snapped.

"Your way?" Kabuto asked. "You're so pathetic."

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"People change," Amaru said. "Lord Naruto is no longer the boy you knew long ago. Chase dreams and ideals all you want. But sometimes, it doesn't do any good. Lord Naruto can't hear you anymore. He'll never return to you. Never."

"No matter what you say. Naruto is my friend. That bond took a lot of work to create. So I'll protect it! Simple as that!" Sasuke said resolutely.

"You really are an idiot," Kabuto said. "You have a bond? So what?"

"If there is a bond... they'll get him back for sure," Sai said unexpectedly. "Isn't that right, Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed.

"Sai, what are you saying?" Sakura asked.

"There's a reason that Sasuke-kun and Sakura-san are following Naruto with such fervor," Sai said. "They're desperate not to sever their bond with Naruto. They're trying to keep that connection. I can't claim to know what it means. But I want to see this bond that they're trying to reel in."

"Sai..." Sasuke muttered.

"Regardless, I know how this will end," Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses. "Go on. Go waste your time persuading Naruto-kun," he said, chuckling darkly.

"You little...!" Sasuke exclaimed as pillar of red chakra erupted into the air in the distance. "Naruto!" he gasped.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Orochimaru chuckled at the pillar of chakra. "What are you doing?"

"You've outlived your usefulness, Orochimaru," Naruto's distorted voice said as the pillar vanished, revealing Naruto to be covered by a dark red chakra cloak that concealed his body, with four tails, and his eyes were empty, white circles. "I'm going to kill you."

Orochimaru laughed. "Go ahead and try!" he exclaimed, spitting out hundreds of snakes that slithered toward Naruto, the front ones extending blades from their mouths, only for Naruto to swat them away with a shockwave from his hand slamming the ground.

Naruto slammed his hands into the ground, shoving his chakra arms underground, where Orochimaru barely dodged the huge forms coming up from beneath him. After dodging several times, Orochimaru extended a snake from his arm that wrapped around the chakra arm, only to die almost instantly, vaporized by the Nine-Tails' seething hatred. Orochimaru quickly used his Body Shedding to escape the same fate, using his Slithering Serpent Mode to get close and punch Naruto in the face, only for another body to form from the chakra cloak and rip him half. Snakes emerged from the halves and pulled the Snake Sannin back together. Orochimaru chuckled as he returned to his normal form. "Not bad, Naruto-kun."

Naruto growled as black and white chakra balls emerged from his chakra cloak, forming into a black mass of chakra as Orochimaru jumped back. Compressing the ball, Naruto swallowed it, getting forced into the ground before he started expanding like a balloon.

"I see," Orochimaru muttered as he bit his thumbs and slammed his palms into the ground. "Triple Rashomon!" he said, summoning three demonic looking gates in a row as Naruto fired his Tailed Beast Ball, tearing through the gates without losing any momentum, and leaving a huge crater.

Naruto growled lightly as the ground started shaking before Orochimaru's head burst from the ground, the blade of his sword shooting from his mouth and knocking Naruto into the air, pushing him into the ground near the Tenchi Bridge, unable to pierce the chakra cloak.

"Even my Sword of Kusanagi can't pierce him!" Orochimaru muttered as he retracted his sword into the snake that emerged from his mouth, pulling it back into himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura gasped as the dust around Naruto cleared and he stood. "Is that...?" she muttered as Naruto dispelled his chakra cloak and put his hands in his pockets before turning to them. If not for the sapphire blue eyes, spiky blond hair, and whisker marks on his cheeks, she wouldn't have recognized him. Gone was his orange jumpsuit. In its place, he donned dark blue pants, a black shirt with a high collar that was unzipped to mid chest, and a red coat with black flames on the bottom. The only part of his outfit that remained unchanged was his headband. He still wore that same slashed out headband.

"Lord Naruto, are you alright?" Amaru asked, jumping over to his side.

"I'm fine, Amaru," Naruto said, looking at his old teammates. "Sasuke... and Sakura too."

"We finally found you... Naruto-kun," Sakura said.

"What are you doing out here?" Naruto asked.

"We could ask you the same thing," Yamato said.

"This was intended as a trap for Sasori of the Akatsuki," Naruto said. "No one, not even his fellows in the Akatsuki, knew of this meeting. Meaning Sasori told you. So he's either been captured, or he's dead."

"It's the later," Sasuke said.

"I see," Naruto said. "So, what brings you here?"

"We came to bring you home, Naruto-kun," Sakura said. "Please... come back with us. I love you. I'm sorry for everything I did to you!"

"You're lying, Sakura," Naruto said coldly. "That day... you made it perfectly clear that you want Sasuke."

"That's not true!" Sakura exclaimed. "I love you, Naruto-kun! I only wish that it hadn't taken you leaving for me to realize that!"

"Where's Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"Kakashi couldn't make it. So I'm here in his place," Yamato said. "We're here to escort you back to the Leaf. Either willingly, or by force."

"So, he's my stand-in?" Naruto asked, looking at Sai.

"I want to see the bond between you and Sasuke-kun," Sai said.

"A bond?" Naruto asked. "I severed my bonds with you that day three years ago. I'm never going back."

"Naruto-kun! Come home, please!" Sakura begged, on the verge of tears.

"Sakura... out of all my bonds of hatred with the Leaf... the one I share with you is the strongest. I despise you more than anyone else in that village," Naruto said.

"It seems that talking won't work," Yamato said.

"Captain Yamato!" Sakura gasped.

"He's a rouge shinobi, no different from Orochimaru," Yamato said. "We'll have to use force."

"Amaru, Kabuto, stand back. I'll handle this alone," Naruto said.

"Yes, milord," Amaru said, jumping back along with Kabuto.

"We're taking you home... no matter what!" Sasuke vowed, drawing his sword.

"You won't be able to even scratch me," Naruto said, drawing a short sword hanging from the small of his back.

"Come back, Naruto!" Sasuke said as he and Naruto leapt at each other, swords clashing as Sasuke's Sharingan flared.

"This'll be easy..." Naruto muttered as he sliced through several ink tigers and dodged a punch from Sakura, sheathing his sword to run through hand signs. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" he said, breathing a strong gust of wind at them, which Yamato blocked with his wood style jutsu. Naruto was unperturbed and ran through more hand signs. "Lightning Style: Flying Thunder God!" he said, channeling lightning chakra through the ground toward Team Kakashi. Acting quickly, Sai drew and ink bird that got them away from the attack.

"Naruto, stop this!" Sasuke exclaimed as he jumped down and ran through hand signs. "Chidori Stream!" he said, channeling his attack through the ground at Naruto, who dodged it multiple times. In response, Sasuke increased the area of effect, tearing up the ground as it headed for Naruto, who turned to face it, forming a wall of shadow clones without hand signs. The clones disappeared into smoke as they took the attack for him, only for Sasuke to jump through the smoke and slug him, knocking him back. "Why can't you understand... Naruto!"

Naruto said nothing as he stood again, shrugging off the punch. "You haven't changed at all," he said before running through hand signs. "Earth Style: Mud Silhouette!" he said, making a small mudslide as he ran through more hand signs. "Water Style: Mouth of the Serpent!" he said, using the water serpent to increase the size and speed of the mudslide as Sasuke jumped back behind Sakura, who ran through hand signs.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Sakura exclaimed, forming the earth wall and blocking the mudslide.

"Playtime's over," Naruto said.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke exclaimed as he jumped over the barrier.

"I have my own path. Stay out of my way," Naruto said.

"I'll protect our bond no matter what!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Then all I have to do is sever that bond," Naruto said, running through hand signs that Sasuke copied. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Their fireballs canceled each other out. "It looks like you've gotten stronger, but it's no use. I'm still stronger than you. I won't show mercy this time," he said as he threw a volley of shuriken at Sasuke, who deflected them with his sword. "Is that all you've got? You were tougher before, Sasuke."

"I'll take you back by force if I have to!" Sasuke said, locking swords with Naruto.

"It's pointless. You'll only be defeated again. Just like before," Naruto said as they separated again. "Your life was only spared on a whim that day. This time, you could lose your life on a whim." As they stood across from each other, he spoke again. "It's time we drew the curtain... on this fight... and all the ones before it!" He said, taking a stance. "Enough talk..." he said, activating the Rinnegan.

Sasuke sensed Naruto move behind him and ducked under a kick that would have hit his head, and threw several kicks that Naruto blocked before dodging a punch and throwing a volley of Chidori Senbon that Naruto dodged before channeling chakra into his sword to extend it to full length and slashing at Sasuke's head. Sasuke dodged the slash and punched Naruto in the face, sending him into Sakura's mud wall, where he pinned him. "Did that wake you up?"

"You're still just a child... Sasuke!" Naruto said before repelling Sasuke with Shinra Tensei and jumping into the air.

Sasuke ran through hand signs as he landed. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he said, sending the fireball at Naruto. Naruto simply summoned some of the Nine-Tails' power and extinguished the fireball with a roar. Sasuke was pushed downward by the wind of the roar before seeing Naruto on the ground in front of him, channeling chakra through his sword blade. Drawing his own sword, Sasuke did the same with his Chidori. "I'll bring you home!"

"It's over," Naruto said as they both took a stance, jumping at each other after several moments.

"NARUTOOOOOO!" Sasuke yelled.

"SASUKEEEEEEE!" Naruto yelled before their attacks collided. The attacks struggled against each other for several moments, but ultimately, Sasuke's sword was knocked from his hands and he was knocked back into the ground. Once the exchange was over, he landed, shortening his sword again as Sasuke got to his feet. "Not bad," he said as he sheathed his sword. "But the game ends here."

"He wasn't fighting seriously?" Yamato asked.

Naruto began forming a Rasengan and channeled wind chakra into it as it started screeching. "I'll erase you here once and for all..."

"I wouldn't use that jutsu, Naruto-kun," Kabuto said as he and Amaru came up beside Naruto.

"Why did you stop me, Kabuto?" Naruto asked, letting the Rasengan disperse.

"We could let these people rid us of as many of the Akatsuki as possible," Kabuto said. "After all, the Akatsuki are after you for the Nine-Tails."

"He has a point, my lord," Amaru said.

Naruto scoffed and put his hands in his pockets. "Kabuto, Amaru, we're leaving," he said as he turned and started walking away.

"Wait, Naruto-kun!" Sakura called, only to be ignored.

"Like I said... he can't hear you anymore," Amaru said.

"Naruto!" Sasuke said. "Narutoooooo!"

Naruto stopped walking as he, Kabuto, and Amaru began vanishing in flames.

"Too bad, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto said. "Goodbye," he said as they vanished completely.

"Naruto-kun..." Sakura muttered.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Sasuke said. "I failed you again."

"Is that the extent of your bond?" Sai asked.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke-kun, your bond with Naruto... it bound the two of you unsevered. A bond like that won't be broken by something like this," Sai said.

"Sai..." Sakura muttered.

"No... it won't," Sasuke said.

"Then everything's fine," Sai said. "You can still bring Naruto back. And next time, I'll be there. After all, three makes better odds than two."

"Sai..." Sasuke muttered. "Thank you."

At that moment, a giant white snake appeared in front of them. "Now, Sasuke-kun, give me... the Sharingan!" Orochimaru yelled as he swallowed Sasuke whole.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke looked around at the flesh that bound him. "What is this place?"

"This is the universe within me. This is where the Transference Ritual takes place. Now... I'll take... the Sharingan! Finally that power... the Uchiha power... will be mine!" Orochimaru exclaimed as Sasuke's Sharingan flared and the flesh began turning black, starting from Sasuke's position. "What? Impossible! The Transference Ritual is being rejected? No! No! This is my universe! I created it! This cannot happen!"

"Orochimaru... my eyes can see through all your jutsu," Sasuke said as he continued taking command of the universe and bound Orochimaru while freeing himself. "Surely you must know. A snake that crawled on the ground dreamed of soaring through the sky, knowing full well that it was impossible. Still, in vain hope, it kept its eye on a baby bird that it nurtured in its own nest... little realizing... that the snake is prey because that bird is a hawk ready to take to the sky."

"This can't be happening!" Orochimaru screamed. "I am Orochimaru! I am immortal! I will not die here!" he screamed as the flesh formed into mouths around him. "I am the one who will unlock the mysteries of nature! I am the one who will receive everything! I am...!" he screamed before the mouths devoured him.

"I will take your power," Sasuke said as the snake spit him out and fell dead.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke looked at his team. "He was after me... but I took everything he had instead."

"You mean...?" Yamato asked as Sasuke nodded.

"Yes. I absorbed Orochimaru," Sasuke said. "Let's head back to the village."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Another chapter finished. Naruto has left Orochimaru and gone his own way. What will he do now? You'll see.


	6. Hebi Formation, and rise of the Kokuboro

Heart of Fury

Last time, Team Kakashi followed up on their lead on Naruto, finding him at the Tenchi Bridge after he turned on Orochimaru, and after failing to convince him to return to the Leaf, they fought him, where Naruto demonstrated his ability to use all six chakra natures and defeated them, leaving with Kabuto and Amaru afterward. After finally bonding with Sai, Sasuke was set upon by Orochimaru, and turned the Transference Ritual on him, absorbing him instead of getting his body taken over.

**Legal stuff: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Just my fics and ocs.**

"So, they failed to bring him back," Kakashi said as he kept reading his book.

"Yes," Yamato said, leaning on the wall of Kakashi's hospital room. Tsunade, Sai, Sasuke, Sakura, and Jiraiya were there as well. "During the battle, he demonstrated the ability to use all six changes in chakra nature."

Kakashi's head snapped up at that. "What? All six? That's impossible!"

"No, it's not," Jiraiya said.

"What do you mean by that, Master Jiraiya?" Yamato asked.

"During the battle, did Naruto's eyes take on a new appearance?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah. When I got close enough to look at him, his eyes were completely purple with a ripple pattern," Sasuke said.

Jiraiya sighed. "I see. So there's another one with those eyes."

"What eyes?" Sakura asked.

"Tsunade, remember those three orphans we came across during the second war?" Jiraiya asked.

"What about them?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, to help them take care of themselves, I taught them ninjutsu. Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato were all naturals with the ninja arts. When I had been living with them for a few months, they ended up getting attacked by chunin from the Hidden Rock," Jiraiya said. "When I came running to the scene, I found fallen Rock ninja, a wounded Yahiko, and Nagato, a host of the Rinnegan."

"Rinnegan?" Sasuke asked.

"The Rinnegan is the most powerful of all dojutsu, and was possessed by the Sage of the Six Paths, said to have been the first of all ninja. It was thought to have been sent from Heaven to a troubled world, but until that day... I never believed anyone who truly possessed the Rinnegan existed," Jiraiya said. "It allowed Nagato to achieve all six changes in chakra nature, same as Naruto. Not only that, but he mastered the six natures by the time he was ten years old."

"So Naruto-kun could learn almost any jutsu he wanted to," Sakura said. "No wonder we were so easily beaten."

"On the positive side, Orochimaru is no longer a threat," Sasuke said, going to the door. "Lady Tsunade, I request permission to form my own team."

"Comprised of who?" Tsunade asked.

"When I was traveling with Anko-sensei, I encountered a few people that I thought would make a good team. And I've narrowed down the list to three people for my team," Sasuke said. "Bipolar Jugo, who is held in the Maggots Nest, Karin of the Hidden Grass; who is one of the finest sensors I've ever met, and Suigetsu Hozuki; one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. I discussed my thoughts with both the leader of the Grass Village and the Mizukage when I was in both villages. And they agreed to allow me to recruit their ninja if I needed to."

Tsunade thought it over. "Very well. Permission granted."

Sasuke nodded. "Thank you. First I'll go get Jugo, then head for the Grass and Mist."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke entered the Maggots Nest with Sakura and Sai in tow, going into an open area where people were walking about.

"This is a prison? No one's in a cell," Sakura said.

"The Maggots Nest is a prison where they're confined to this area of the village," Sasuke said. "You know about the ANBU, right?"

"Yeah. The elite of the village," Sakura said.

"Well, in addition to the ANBU, each of the Five Great Nations has an organization separate from the ANBU. The Stone Village has the Explosion Corp. The Cloud Village has the Kinkaku Force. The Sand Village has the Puppet Brigade. The Mist Village has the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. And the Leaf has the most secretive and extensive of these organizations: the Onmitsukido."

"Onmitsukido?" Sakura asked.

"The Onmitsukido are the Leaf's elite task force. They deal with the problems that are too big for the ANBU alone. They're divided into ten branches: The Ninjutsu Unit, who specialize in ninjutsu; the Genjutsu Unit, who are masters of genjutsu; the Taijutsu Unit, masters of hand to hand combat; the Summoner Unit, who fight with summoned creatures; the Seal Unit, who design and analyze seals of all kinds; the Curse Unit, who design and analyze curse marks; the Punishment Unit, who track down and kill rogue ninja; The Courier Unit, who convey top priority messages; the Espionage Unit, who spy on other nations' activities and report on them; and the Containment Unit, who confine potentially dangerous elements," Sasuke explained. "The dangerous elements captured by the Containment Unit are kept in this facility: the Underground Containment Center. Otherwise known as the Maggots Nest. The inmates can move about the facility, they just can't leave. That's why our weapons were taken before we were let in."

As he finished speaking a near giant inmate tried to grab Sakura, who spun and stopped him cold. "Don't think that just because I'm a girl, that I'm an easy target," Sakura said, pulling the guy to her and punching him into a wall. "WHO ELSE WANTS SOME?" she growled, glowing with a flaming aura of fury that scared the other inmates.

"Let's go, Sakura, Sai," Sasuke said, leading them deeper into the Maggots Nest, down a corridor lit only by candles. "Jugo is the only inmate who's dangerous enough to require confinement to his own cell," he said as they arrived at a cell at the end of the hall. "Jugo, it's me, Sasuke."

"Sasuke..." Jugo muttered. "Let me KILL YOU!" he yelled, trying to lunge at Sasuke, only for the chakra absorbing bars and Jugo's chain connecting him to the wall to stop him.

Sasuke unleashed murderous intent at Jugo. "Listen to me, Jugo." The effect was immediate. Jugo calmed and his mutation went away. "Jugo, I need your help. If you come with me, I will be your cage."

"You'll stop me if I start rampaging?" Jugo asked.

"Yes," Sasuke said.

"Alright. I'll help you," Jugo said.

"Normally, Jugo is calm, but he sometimes goes into murderous rampages. Hence his own cell," Sasuke explained as Jugo was released. "Get ready, Jugo. We leave for the Grass Village in an hour."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Before leaving for the Grass Village, Sasuke made a stop by the academy, where Iruka had just dismissed a class. "Iruka-sensei. There's something I need to give you," he said, tossing Naruto's abandoned headband to him.

Iruka caught it and gasped. "This is... the headband I gave Naruto when he graduated! How do you have it?"

"Naruto left it behind when I last encountered him. And when I tried to stop him at the Final Valley three years ago, was when he slashed it out," Sasuke said.

Iruka shed a tear over the headband that the boy he thought of as a brother had slashed out. "Sasuke... I know you can bring him back."

Sasuke nodded. "I will." With that, he headed for the gate to meet Jugo and head for the Grass Village.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke and Jugo made it to the Grass Village in three days, and were met by several Grass ninja. "Where's Karin?" Sasuke asked.

"Right here," Karin said from nearby. "I sensed you coming."

"I'll get to the point," Sasuke said. "Karin, come with me. I need you."

Karin blushed as she looked at him. "Me?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes. I need your help in an endeavor."

Karin got her blush under control and nodded. "Alright. Let me get packed and we'll go."

"We'll be waiting," Sasuke said.

Karin nodded and rushed home to pack, and returned after a few minutes. "Okay, let's go."

Sasuke nodded before turning to leave the Grass with Karin and Jugo in tow.

"So where to now?" Karin asked.

"To the Hidden Mist, to recruit Suigetsu Hozuki," Sasuke said.

"One of the Seven Swordsmen?" Karin asked.

"Yes," Sasuke said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After travelling for a week, Sasuke, Karin, and Jugo arrived in the Hidden Mist Village, where they were met by a man with white pants, a purple shirt, white hair, and purple eyes. On his back he carried a large cleaver sword.

"You must be Suigetsu Hozuki," Sasuke said.

"Yup. That's me," Suigetsu said. "Heard you need me for something."

"Yes. I need you to join the team that I'm forming," Sasuke said.

"Sure. I'll join you," Suigetsu said. "Might be fun."

"Thank you, Suigetsu. I'll explain our goal when we return to the Leaf," Sasuke said.

"Alright. Lead the way," Suigetsu said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Upon returning to the Leaf, Sasuke took his new team to Tsunade. "Lady Hokage, I've assembled my team."

"Alright. Now what do you intend to do with them?" Tsunade asked.

"My goal is to protect Naruto," Sasuke said. "Henceforth, my team will known as... the Hebi. The Hebi has but one objective. Destroy as many of the Akatsuki as possible."

"I see," Tsunade said. "Alright. I'll have the file on the Akatsuki sent to you, and I took the liberty of placing a replacement for you in Team Kakashi."

Sasuke nodded. "Thank you, Lady Tsunade. Who will my replacement be?"

"Another of Anko's students, Yoshimori Yagami," Tsunade said.

"I see," Sasuke said. "I've met him a few times. He's powerful."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yoshimori walked toward training ground 7, his earlier conversation with Tsunade fresh in his mind. He was being placed in Team Kakashi, the squad that the traitor Naruto Uzumaki had once been part of. And if rumors were to be believed, then among his squadmates was Sakura Haruno, who, according to said rumors, was head over heels in love with Naruto. "Love is weird," he muttered as he entered the training ground.

"Sakura-san, it seems that Sasuke-kun's replacement is here," Sai said.

Turning to where Sai pointed, Sakura saw a man in a black kimono with flames emblazoned on the ends of the sleeves, armored bracers with what seemed to be blades on the bottoms, a brown trenchcoat draped over his shoulders, and, much to her curiosity, his arms were kept in the kimono rather than the sleeves. On his left hip, kept in the kimono's blood red sash, was a sword that she immediately identified as one of the Yagami clan's blades, so he was either one of them, or affiliated with them. It wasn't unheard of for such a blade to be given to swordsmen that one of the Yagami found to be worthy of their recognition, as the Yagami clan was famous for being highly talented in kenjutsu and in the use of just about every bladed weapon there was. Shuriken, kunai, tantos, scythes, it didn't make much difference to them, though their default weapons were those specially crafted swords. And they were made even deadlier by their Kekkei Genkai, a dojutsu known as the Tenchigan, which according to rumor allowed the user to easily keep track of fast moving objects, and view everything around them with great clarity, to the point that a normal person's speed appears to be slow motion. If he was part of the clan, then Sakura prayed that they didn't encounter Naruto while he was with them. The Yagami were famous not only for their combat abilities and Kekkei Genkai, but also for their brutality, having no qualms with mutilating their opponents. The particularly brutal ones were even known to bifurcate enemies that posed no threat to them, such as bandits. And they did all of it without a single shred of remorse or guilt.

She was brought out of her thoughts by him putting his right arm in its sleeve, drawing his blade, and charging, aiming for her throat. She reflexively hardened her throat with her Steel Style jutsu, along with her arms, blocking his subsequent strikes, which she noted to be very fast, while Sai tried to flank him, slicing at his back with his tanto.

Yoshimori spun around to parry the strike while throwing a back kick at Sakura, knocking her away as Sai jumped away and drew several tigers and sent them at him. Unperturbed, Yoshimori cut down the tigers, finding them to be a distraction so that Sai and Sakura could close in for a pincer attack. "Snake Authority Spell," he said, summoning a pair of snakes that each restrained one of them.

Sakura looked at him, now knowing who he was. Sasuke had spoken of him a few times. Her new teammate was none other than Yoshimori Yagami, Anko Mitarashi's favorite pupil.

"Not bad," Yoshimori said, sheathing his sword as he recalled his snakes, dodging a punch from Sakura.

"What the hell was that for?" Sakura demanded, glaring at Yoshimori.

"I had to test your reflexes," Yoshimori said. "I'm impressed."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke watched the meeting between Sakura, Sai, and Yoshimori to make sure nothing went wrong before returning to his newly formed team. "Alright. Our first target is Itachi Uchiha. Since I'm familiar with his abilities, going after him first makes the most sense." Pulling out the file on the Akatsuki, Sasuke pulled out Itachi's dossier for them to see.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elsewhere, at the Fire Temple, the ninja monks were going through their daily training regimen under the watchful supervision of Chiriku, the head monk. Though the peaceful atmosphere was shattered as the main temple gate was blown off its hinges and out past the other side of the temple, getting the attention of all the monks.

"Who intrudes upon the Fire Temple?" Chiriku demanded as the dust settled, revealing Naruto, Kabuto, and Amaru. Naruto having his hand raised in front of him and his Rinnegan gleaming.

"I do," Naruto said, lowering his arm. "You should get a better barrier. That Iron Wall Seal was nothing against Shinra Tensei." As he spoke, the monks surrounded them, ready to attack.

"So Naruto-kun, shall Amaru-san and I deal with the monks?" Kabuto asked.

"Yes. Kill them," Naruto said.

"At once, Lord Naruto," Amaru said.

Kabuto smirked and ran through hand signs. "Summoning: Impure World Resurrection!" As the words left his mouth, three coffins rose from the ground behind him, opening to reveal three shinobi, who each had black scleras instead of white ones, and their bodies were marred by imperfections, and appeared to be in a state of minor decay.

"Reanimation Ninjutsu," Chiriku gasped as the three shinobi stepped from their coffins in front of Kabuto, who put a kunai with a talisman into each of their skulls, which fully restored their appearances.

"Allow me to introduce Toroi, Gari, and Pakura," Kabuto said, gesturing to each of his puppets in turn as the revived took stances.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura arrived at the gate to get the traffic report from Izumo and Kotetsu, what Naruto said to her at the Tenchi Bridge fresh in her mind. _"Sakura... out of all my bonds of hatred with the Leaf... the one I share with you is the strongest. I despise you more than anyone else in that village."_

"You alright, Sakura?" Izumo asked, breaking her from her reverie, causing her to notice that a tear had fallen from her eye.

"I was just thinking about Naruto-kun," Sakura said, wiping the tear away. "When he started forming that last Rasengan, there was no mistaking the intent in his eyes and posture. He truly meant to kill us."

"Hard to believe that the same little prankster who boasted about becoming Hokage to anyone who would listen ended up turning traitor," Kotetsu said.

"And it's my fault he left," Sakura said. "I broke his heart and I hate myself for that. I just want him to come home."

"Master Jiraiya once said that home is wherever people are thinking about you," Kotetsu said. "As long as there are people here who still think of him, then Naruto will always have a home here."

"Yeah," Sakura agreed before noticing someone running toward the gate. "Someone's coming."

The man turned out to be a monk, and he was panicking. "The Fire Temple has been attacked!" he yelled as he fell to his knees in front of Sakura.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once he had been tended to, the monk was brought to Tsunade.

"Alright, tell me how it happened," Tsunade said calmly.

The monk nodded. "We were training when the Iron Wall Seal was blown off its hinges with such force that it landed outside the temple on the opposite side that it was placed on. Three people entered: a young woman with reddish brown hair and dark blue eyes in a travelling cloak, a man in a black cloak and glasses whose left arm and part of his face appeared to be white and scaly, and they were led by the man who knocked the Iron Wall Seal away. He had dark blue pants, a black shirt with a high collar that was unzipped to mid chest, a blood red coat with black flames on the end of it, blond spiky hair, and those eyes..." the monk shuddered. "Those eyes were filled with such malice and bloodlust. I never thought it possible for one man to be so malicious. The man with glasses summoned three coffins, each containing a shinobi. Lord Chiriku identified it as a reanimation ninjutsu. After that, the summoner put a talisman in each of the revived ninjas' heads, fully restoring their appearances. After that, all hell broke loose. I barely managed to escape with my life to come here and get help. But that blond man, I wonder if he let me go."

"Did you hear the blond man's name?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes. The woman addressed him as Lord Naruto," the monk said, making Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura gasp.

"Shizune! Summon the rest of Team Kakashi along with Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, and five ANBU squads!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Shizune said, leaving to send out the summons.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The summoned shinobi soon arrived, knelling before Tsunade on the roof of the Hokage Residence, Sakura being among them.

"We've been informed that Naruto Uzumaki has laid siege to the Fire Temple. I believe that he allowed the monk who told us to escape so that we could receive this information, so he's probably still at the temple. You're to detain him and capture him. Preferably alive. But if you see no other alternative, then use lethal force." Tsunade's voice softened at the mention of lethal force. "You have your orders. Now go!" With that, the ninja disappeared, heading for the Fire Temple.

As they moved, Sakura felt faint murderous intent from the ANBU agents. She knew they would go at Naruto with intent to kill. No doubt they viewed him as the Nine-Tails rather than as a person. That made her sick. Both at them, and at herself for causing Naruto's anger and hatred to surface and consume him. She just hoped that Yoshimori wouldn't go at Naruto with lethal force. Yoshimori was said to be very powerful, capable of matching an ANBU squad on his own, so for all intent and purposes, they were accompanied by six ANBU squads.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They arrived at the Fire Temple after about six hours. Or rather, they arrived at what was left of it. Seated and/or standing around the bodies were a group of 15 people, and atop a pile of corpses, was Naruto himself, grinning as his Rinnegan gleamed with malice.

"28 ninja. The hag must be getting desperate," Naruto said.

"How dare you speak of the Hokage like that!" one of the ANBU snapped, only for Naruto's murderous intent to silence them.

"Naruto, where is Chiriku?" Asuma asked. Naruto said nothing, and nodded to Kabuto, who ran through hand signs before clapping his hands together, summoning a coffin that opened to reveal a revived Chiriku. "Chiriku!" Asuma gasped.

"A member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja would make a very good addition to my collection," Kabuto said, summoning four more coffins. "In fact, I went ahead and revived the four buried around the Fire Temple while I was at it," he said as the coffins opened, revealing four more ninja. "You remember them, I'm sure."

"Kitane, Nauma, Seito, Tou," Asuma said, glaring at Kabuto. "You monster! Toying with the dead like that is unforgivable!"

"So what's with the new appearance, Kabuto?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura-san, do me a favor and give Sasuke-kun my thanks for killing Orochimaru," Kabuto said, revealing his scaly left arm. "Once Orochimaru died, I was able to take cells and tissue from his body and integrate them into my own body. Now I'm growing stronger as I gain control over them. The fruits of my labor are already visible with my use of Impure World Resurrection."

Kakashi looked at Naruto, his visible eye pained. **"Sensei, I'm so sorry,"** he thought. "Naruto, I don't understand. Why are you doing this?"

Naruto's gaze drifted to his old sensei. "Well, Kakashi is here, but not Sasuke. And Sakura came too. And not just them, but the smoker, the banshee, the lazy ass, and the fatass too."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Choji snapped, getting calmed by Shikamaru.

"Easy Choji. He wants to rile you up," Shikamaru said, looking at Naruto. "There's no mistaking it. Those are the eyes of a killer. And he plans to add us to that body count."

"Not just you, but the entire Hidden Leaf Village," Naruto said. "That village is full of self-righteous bastards who would punish an innocent child for crimes he didn't commit. Just for being chosen as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. They made my life a living hell. And all that time, only one thing kept me there. My feelings for Sakura. But when she broke my heart, I decided that the village needed to pay for their crimes. In blood. You might even say it's what they always wanted. They've always hated me. So now... I'll disappear from their memories just like they always wanted. When I kill everyone in the Leaf. When the time is right, I'll return to the Leaf and destroy it to the last child. Right now, the only thing keeping me from attacking, is the presence of the Akatsuki."

"So remember this, Leaf ninja, your days are numbered," one of Naruto's living subordinates said. "Not from the Akatsuki, but from us. We're the Kokuboro."

Choji recognized the speaker. "You're... Gagin Akimichi!"

"Gagin?" Kakashi asked, confirming that it was indeed Gagin.

"I've also got Shion Aburame, Byaku Hyuga, and Kaguro Uchiha," Naruto said, gesturing to three others in turn.

"An Uchiha?" Ino asked.

"Yeah. I went rogue a few years before Itachi's time," Kaguro said, his Sharingan gleaming with malice, just like Naruto's Rinnegan.

"I also got some of Orochimaru's other subordinates," Naruto said, gesturing to another five. "Meet Kimimaro, Sakon, Tayuya, Kidomaru, and Jirobo. And of course, Sakura and the emotionless artist already know Kabuto and Amaru. But that's enough idle chit chat."

"Naruto, we're your friends! Please, come back with us!" Ino begged.

"I severed my bonds with all of you three years ago. You're nothing to me now. Just remnants of my past," Naruto said as the ANBU moved and attacked him from all sides. "I admire your enthusiasm," he said as they got closer. "Shinra Tensei." The moment the words left his mouth, an unseen force repelled the ANBU with considerable force, the ANBU sliding to stops as Naruto stood. "Well, if you're offering your lives, I'll take them first." With that, Naruto disappeared from sight.

"Where'd he go?" one of the ANBU asked before Naruto appeared behind him and took his head off with a swipe of his sword, having extended it to full length.

Naruto grinned as he made a one handed hand sign. "Earth Style: Dark Swamp!" As the words left his mouth, the ground beneath three other ANBU became a swamp and swallowed them. Jumping into the air to avoid a sword slash from another ANBU, Naruto ran through one handed hand signs. "Wind Style: Vacuum Blast!" Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled a stream of wind while whipping his head to the side, creating a wind blade that cut the ANBU in half at the waist. Stabbing his sword into the ground as he landed, Naruto drew a shuriken and set it spinning on his fingertip as he breathed wind chakra onto it before throwing it at a pair of approaching ANBU. One dodged it, but the other got cut in half by the wind enhanced shuriken. As it was doing that, Naruto breathed wind chakra onto two more shuriken and threw them one after the other at the ANBU who managed to dodge the first one. The ANBU caught one of the shuriken on the tip of his blade and used it to block the other shuriken, unaware of the first shuriken coming back his way until it took his head off. Drawing more shuriken, Naruto took a deep breath, breathing fire chakra onto the shuriken as he threw them. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Crimson Needles!" As the shuriken flew, Naruto used Bansho Ten'in to pull three ANBU onto a collision course with the flaming shuriken, setting them ablaze once the shuriken connected. The remaining ten ANBU tried to attack him from all sides as he ran through hand signs. "Water Style: Super Exploding Water Shockwave!" He then spit out enough water to form a dome around himself and the ANBU. Quickly exiting the bubble, Naruto ran through more hand signs before sticking his hand in the dome. "Lightning Style: Flying Thunder God!" This channeled the lightning chakra into the water dome, electrocuting the ANBU to death. Once they were dead, Naruto released the dome, letting it fall apart. "That was a good warm up."

"Impressive. He made those ANBU look like fresh genin," Yoshimori said, putting his right arm in its sleeve and drawing his sword. "He should make for a worthy opponent." As he spoke, his temple veins bulged and his brown irises turned blood red.

"Yoshimori no!" Sakura exclaimed before Naruto appeared in front of her, looking her straight in the eyes. She saw the look in them. He had every intention of killing her. But before his sword hit her, Yoshimori intercepted him.

"Naruto Uzumaki, the traitorous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," Yoshimori said. "Our orders are to take you alive, but if need be, to use lethal force."

"So the old hag gave permission to kill me," Naruto said. "Where am I in the bingo book?"

"S-class. You've replaced Orochimaru at the top of the most wanted list," Yoshimori said.

"Even the old hag shows how she really feels," Naruto said.

"Naruto-kun, Lady Tsunade did everything she could to keep you out of the bingo book and off the wanted list!" Sakura said. "We're your friends! We want you to come home!"

"I won't go back to being the guardian of people who treated me like a common beast," Naruto said.

"Naruto-kun, come home, please! I love you! I don't love Sasuke! He's a dear friend. That's all he is. You're the one I love!"

"I've had enough of your lies, Sakura!" Naruto snapped, repelling Yoshimori with Shinra Tensei before charging at her. Sakura dodged the strike and armored her arms with Steel Style: Ultimate Shield.

As Naruto and Sakura started fighting, Kabuto summoned coffins and stored away the revived ninja. After that, he summoned three others, revealing Toroi, Gari, and Pakura.

Kakashi uncovered his Sharingan. "Careful of the woman, Pakura. She has the Scorch Style Kekkei Genkai, and hailed from the Hidden Sand. The Stone Shinobi is Gari, a member of the Stone Village's Explosion Corps. He has the Explosion Style Kekkei Genkai. Whatever happens, don't let him touch you."

Yoshimori put his left arm in its sleeve. "The other man is Toroi, a shinobi of the Hidden Cloud who possesses the Magnetism Style Kekkei Genkai. My grandfather fought and killed him during the Third Shinobi World War. Don't deflect his shuriken. You have to dodge his attacks to survive. If you deflect his shuriken, you'll become magnetized, and unable to escape the next shuriken wave."

"Sai," Kakashi said as he drew a kunai and Asuma drew his chakra blades while the Ino-Shika-Cho trio got ready.

"Yes?" Sai asked.

"Use your sealing techniques to stop these revived ninja. We'll damage them and render them vulnerable for you," Kakashi said.

"Right!" Sai said, summoning a large scroll as tall as himself and opening it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In another part of the Land of Fire, Sasuke had split up from the rest of the Hebi to search for information. As he entered an open field, he saw two men in cloaks that had red clouds on them, one of whom he recognized. "Deidara. We meet again."

"What do you know, our target found us. Hmm," Deidara said.

Sasuke looked at the other guy, who had on an orange mask that had a swirl pattern that went to the eye hole on the right side, and had no left eye hole. "Is he Sasori's replacement?"

"Hello. My name is Tobi. And you already know Deidara-senpai," the man introduced himself. "I'm new in the Akatsuki, so go easy on me."

"Where is Itachi Uchiha?" Sasuke asked before noticing a pair of giant clay birds coming at him from behind.

Deidara smirked and made a hand sign. "Katsu!" At the command, the birds detonated right above Sasuke.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cliffhanger. Sorry about the wait. Been really busy with stuff. Like school. College is no picnic. Anyway, I bid you all a most respectful farewell. Until next time.


End file.
